Buried Alive By Love
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: Taking Eric's blood changes everything for Sookie, starting with her feelings for Bill. This story contains book spoilers and has moments of OOC and AU along with lots of lemony goodness. There's a better explanation in the first chapter.
1. Do Me A Favour

This started out as something small to cover the end of S2 of True Blood, but rapidly evolved into something much, much bigger. I've labeled it as an SVM story because the majority of this story pulls plots from the books and tangles them together in new ways that still somehow make sense. But the story does begin in the True Blood fandom. So there are spoilers for many of the books here. It's been a while since I've read through this whole thing and I've written so much since that I've forgotten everything that happens here, but you can expect to see some of your favorite book moments in this story. Beware of moments of OOC and definitely AU. Hopefully you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. As always, reviews are love.

**I do not own any of these characters but I did turn their world upside down and inside out purely for my own amusement, and hopefully yours.**

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Chapter One: Do Me A Favour

To say that I was pissed off at Eric would be the understatement of the century. My blood was boiling in my veins, and the worst of it was, he could feel it now. Every little thing I felt, he felt too. I didn't want him in my life like that. I barely wanted to have a conversation with him, even if he_ did_ just save my life. But the fact that he did so is now tainted by the fact that he tricked me into doing something we both know I never would have done otherwise. And to top that off, my boyfriend is completely aware of it. Of course, Bill's just as pissed off as I am. I know he doesn't blame me for what happened, or anything like that, but I still can't help but feel a little guilty about it. I should have known better. I've spent enough time around vampires that I should know these sorts of things. But there's Eric, laying there looking like he's going to die (easy to do when you're already dead), making all these pathetic noises, and I just start sucking on his chest. Oh Lord, I think I might throw up.

When we got back to the hotel tonight, I took a shower and just scrubbed myself. I brushed my teeth for what felt like an hour, and I just couldn't get the taste of his blood out of my mouth. Ugh. Oh, and as if it's not bad enough that I'm not bonded to him, that rat bastard, Bill tells me I'm probably going to start feeling attracted to him. Great. Just great. Could this night possibly suck any harder than it does right now? I almost got choked, bitten and blown up. That's in addition to the bond I was tricked into forming with Eric. And he was so smug about it too! Oh I wish I could have slapped him silly. Of course, I could have knocked him over the head with a mallet, and all I would have done is hurt my hand, probably.

Even though it's night time, Bill is asleep beside me. He's been real tired lately, though I'm not sure why. My guess would be because of Lorena. What a whack job she is! How Bill could have spent close to seventy years with that woman, I have no idea. I could hardly spend seventy seconds with her without wanting to drive a stake through her heart. I mean, if you've been with a guy for **seventy years**, and he **still** doesn't love you, I think it's time to give up. Maybe that's just me.

But I can't sleep, thanks to Eric. I was quite sure Eric wasn't sleeping in his room down the hall, and I had a few things I wanted to get off my chest. So, I slid into my bathrobe, and put on my slippers. I was wearing a nightgown, and didn't want to give him the wrong idea. I slipped one of the keycards into the pocket of my robe, and opened the door as quietly as I could so as not to disturb Bill. We were in room 637, and Eric was down the hall in 614. My heart was racing the whole way there. I don't know if it was because I was a little nervous about confronting him, or if it was because I was so angry. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Either way, I stopped outside of his room to take a few deep breaths before knocking on the heavy black door.

It wasn't until after I'd knocked that I heard the sound of a woman gasping and moaning inside the room. I squeezed my eyes shut, and prayed that he would just ignore my knock, but of course, that didn't happen. He opened the door quickly with a very satisfied look on his face. His fangs were fully extended, and there was the telltale red ring around his mouth that let me know he'd just fed on someone. The woman making all that noise inside, probably.

"Care to join us? I could use some dessert." Eric looked me up and down, and I noticed that while I had put the robe on, I hadn't tied it.

I pulled the robe tightly around my body and glared at him. "I need to talk to you. If now isn't convenient, I can wait until tomorrow evening."

"That won't be necessary. Please, come in." Eric stepped back, and gestured for me to walk into the room.

I hesitated for just a moment, but knew I didn't have a whole lot of options. What I wanted to say to him I couldn't just go and say out in the hall. I stepped awkwardly into his room, and tried not to stare at the woman who was sprawled out on the sofa. She looked dazed in a completely blissful sort of way. She was fully clothed, much to my relief, but I could see trails of blood running from her thigh as well as her neck. Eric had been experimenting with this one. Her hair was just past shoulder length and very blond. Her eyes were big and brown, not too different from my own. She had full pink lips, and lots of curves. She was a pretty girl, but not what I'd call beautiful.

"Sandra, you are excused." Eric waved her off.

"Thank you, Eric. You have a lovely evening." Sandra pulled herself together as best she could, and then scurried toward the door.

As she passed me I could read her mind easily, and she was a little disappointed that I had come to interrupt them. She'd thought there would be more to their evening together than just a snack. I almost wanted to apologize to her, since I wasn't really wild about being in Eric's room anyway. I could smell her blood in the room, which I knew was a side effect of having Eric's blood in my system. My hair was shinier, my skin was glowing, my eyes sparkled a little more and I felt stronger. I supposed having a harder time turning off my mind was also a side effect, although I'd never had that trouble with Bill's blood in the past. Then again, Eric is five times older than Bill.

"What can I do for you this evening?" Eric took a seat on the sofa not far from where Sandra had been sprawled out. "You can sit down, if you like."

I wanted to march across the room and hit him square in the nose, but I knew I couldn't do something like that. "Why'd you do it, Eric?" I demanded, crossing my arms under my breasts.

"I saw an opportunity, and I took it." He said simply.

"Why is it so important to you? I don't get it. I love someone else. What's so hard to understand about that?" I shouted at him.

Eric snickered, which only served to fuel the fire of my anger. "Are you quite sure that Bill reciprocates your sentiments?" Eric was trying to keep a smile off his face, which made me think he knew much more about my relationship than I did. I suddenly felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle.

I shook my head because just the thought that Eric might be right was ridiculous. "Bill loves me. Whether you want to believe it or not, he does." My voice was faltering, however, and I was suddenly overcome with a massive wave of those feelings Bill had been talking about earlier. Oh my.

Eric felt it too. He felt it big time. His fangs extended again, and the next thing I knew, he was standing over me. I felt like a child standing in front him since he was so much taller than me. I did my best to steel my will, but when he ran his fingers down the length of my neck, feeling my pulse, it sent a chill up my spine. Yet another feeling that I knew was being passed along to him. Ugh, this was so unfair! And there was nothing I could do to reverse it. No matter where I went, who I was with or what I did, Eric would always be able to feel me and find me. He was a part of me now.

"You're quite sure about this?" Eric looked me in the eyes, and I got the feeling that was what his eyes looked like when he was glamouring someone.

"Positive." I whispered.

"I bonded you to me because you are in my service now, Sookie. If you ever get into another predicament like you did with that louse Hugo, I want to be able to track you." Eric told me, and I found myself wishing that the bond worked both ways. I was tempted to let Eric bite me just so that we'd been on a level playing field, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. Eric would always be stronger than me. Always.

"Bill can track me." I argued.

"Bill has...issues with his Maker. She could recall him at anytime, and he would be obliged to go. Even after Godric told her to leave his home." Eric informed me.

Well that wasn't good news. I'd thought we were rid of her for good. "You're sure it wasn't for more personal reasons than that?" I challenged Eric, realizing a minute too late how stupid that was.

"What sort of reasons would I have?" Eric leaned into me, his eyes locked with mine. "You belong to another." His hands were still near my throat, which made me extremely uncomfortable, which only made him smile. "You fear me."

"I loathe you." I answered easily, my sassy side deciding it was time to break up this little pity party I was having for myself.

"Then why did you come to me alone, in the middle of the night? Why not say these things to me when Bill was present?" Eric questioned me.

"Because I don't require his permission to speak. I'm not his lapdog." I fired back, and his smile grew.

"Of course not." Eric was still smiling, and the expression in his eyes implied that he didn't quite believe me.

"You know what? It doesn't matter why. The point is, I'm telling you now that I think what you did was sneaky, manipulative and maybe even evil. But, you're a Viking. I probably should have expected that." I said before I could stop myself, and the next thing I knew, Eric had me up against the wall with his fangs dangerously close to my neck.

"I could kill you right where you are, and there is nothing you could do to stop me." Eric reminded me, and maybe if I weren't so fired up, I would have been scared.

I turned my head, fully exposing my neck to him. "Do it." I challenged him. "If you're going to do it anyway, just do it now and get it over with."

I was in a dangerous position. I was pinned against a wall, a full foot off the ground, and I'd just challenged an angry vampire. The room was thick with lust, which was something one wouldn't need to be a telepath to figure out. I thought about kneeing him, but decided that wouldn't do me much good. He might let me go for a minute, but once the pain subsided, I'd be in even bigger trouble than I already was. As if to warn me, his fangs scraped against my neck. They were sharp. Much sharper than Bill's, and it took me a second to figure out that the little scratches he'd made on my neck were bleeding.

The next thing I felt was something cool and wet pressing and dragging against my skin. Lips pressed against the wounds on my neck, drawing on them gently. He was kissing my neck. Oh my. My heart fluttered. I tried to push him away, but my attempts to fight him off only seemed to spur him on. The wounds healed quickly, since I had his blood in my system, and before I knew it, there were other scratches on the other side of my neck.

When he finally pulled his head back to look at me, he was all starry-eyed. "What are you?" He asked me, and once again, I got the feeling there was a piece of the puzzle I was missing.

My breath caught in my throat as he leaned in once again. Only this time his mouth found my own. He grazed my lips gently, and I was surprised by how velvety soft his lips were against my own. They were cool, of course, but I was used to that feeling. I could tell he was inhaling my scent, and the deeper he inhaled, the more excited he got. And then, all of a sudden, his lips crushed against mine. I completely forgot all about Bill down the hall, asleep in the bed we'd been sharing since arriving in Dallas. All I could think about was the here and now, and in this moment, I was with Eric, and no one else. Whether it was the bond, or just my own feelings coming out, I don't know.

When it became clear to Eric that I wasn't going to fight back, or run, he put me down. I was thankful for that because my arms were really starting to hurt. He slipped his hands inside the robe, and forced it off my shoulders. The rush of cool air in the room did all sorts of things to me, and those feelings were only compounded when I felt his hands on my breasts. I didn't push any part of him away. Suddenly, the prospect of being with Eric didn't seem so bad. I let the heavy gray robe fall to the floor around my ankles, leaving me standing there in a relatively small yellow nightgown. His hands pressed against me, keeping me against the wall while he kissed me. Without even realizing I had done it, my hands had grabbed onto the top of his jeans, pulling his lower half to me too, and when I broke away from him to catch my breath a little, I was amazed at what I was feeling pressed against hip.

He was already shirtless, and what a site that was. Oh my. Such pale smooth skin stretched over muscles more powerful than I could imagine. I felt a sudden emptiness south of my bellybutton, and I knew he felt it too. His eyes flashed at me, and I found myself scooped up off the floor. He kissed me the whole way to the enormous bed on the other side of the room. For the first time, it occurred to me that Bill was just down the hall in our room, but I couldn't stop. I'd gone too far already. I told myself it was the bond, and I was powerless to stop this.

Eric set me down on the bed as gently as he possibly could, and I felt like I was floating on a cloud. What amazed me was how _not_ nervous I felt. I suddenly had the feeling that he would do whatever he had to in order to make sure I was safe. I liked the feeling of being under the protection of a vampire, even if it was the same one who had manipulated me into taking his blood just a few hours before. At that moment, it didn't matter one bit what he'd done. I pulled off my nightgown while he removed his pants, and I just sort of froze for a second. Oh my.

I was filled with a brand new appreciation for the male body. Eric was absolutely beautiful all over, and he was staring at me with the hungriest expression I'd ever seen in my life. He climbed onto the bed beside me, his eyes taking in my body the same way I was taking in his. Finally my eyes caught his again, and we just stared at each other for a few seconds. He tilted my chin up with the tips of his fingers, and slowly lowered his mouth to mine again. I thought I was ready for it, but I was wrong. Eric had been kissing women for centuries, and he was spectacular at it.

His mouth moved from mine to my jaw, and then slowly, made it's way farther down my body. His fingers against my skin felt like ice cubes with my increased body heat. Yet, I felt like I was the one who was melting under him. He seemed to know all the right spots to touch or kiss, and when he moved to part my knees, I was too weak to resist him. I couldn't recall a time when every single part of my body felt so alive. Even my hair was tingling with anticipation. I was teetering on the edge, and about to free fall into that warm bliss that was just waiting to wash over me.

My body resisted just a little when he began to push his way into me, but it didn't take long for him to slide all the way in. Again my breath caught in my throat, and when I could breathe again, I found I was gasping and panting under him. His thrusts were slow and rhythmic, determined to make this last as long as he possibly could. My hands reached down and grabbed his beautiful backside, and I pushed him into me faster. My hips rose to meet his, and before long, he was working at a much faster pace. We rolled so I was on top of him, which caused an entirely new sensation to flow through my body. Oh my...

Strong hands rocked my hips back and forth, and I could feel his eyes on me, watching my face change as I moved above him. I started to tighten up around him, and he rocked me faster against him until I was crying out and digging my nails into his muscular thighs. I cried out one last time as my entire body shook with pleasure. Oh my...oh my...

He sat up, and I wrapped my arms around him. I kissed his face and neck as he continued to thrust into me. I was sucking on his neck, and he started to growl quietly. His hands were on my rear end, then my back, and then in my hair, moving my head so he could kiss me some more. With his hands still in my hair, he pulled my mouth away from his, and then plunged his fangs into my neck. I don't know if I cried out then from the pain in my throat, or from the bliss radiating from my belly, but he shook underneath me, and I could feel him starting to go a little weak all on his own. He let go of my hair, and his arms wrapped around me like a vice so that my chest was crushed against his. He lapped at my neck for as long as possible before the wound closed and healed itself.

Exhausted, he flopped back on the bed. I climbed off his large body, and sat on my knees beside him on the bed. It took a minute for the reality of the situation to sink in. Not only had Eric gotten me to drink his blood, now he'd had mine too. We were completely bonded to one another, and to top it off, we'd had sex to seal the deal. My eyes filled with tears, and I scrambled off the bed to retrieve my nightgown.

"Where are you going, lover?" He said with that same starry-eyed expression on his face.

I pulled my nightgown down over my head, and then put on the bathrobe I'd had on as well. I just glared at Eric with hatred, although I was more angry with myself at that moment than I was with Eric. I was such an idiot. I should have just left it alone. Now it was an even bigger mess than it had to be. I turned to go, but Eric was already at the door by the time I was completely turned around.

"You haven't answered my question." Eric's fangs had receded, but all it would take was a single cross word for that to change.

"I have to get back to my room." I was trying my best not to cry, but I was on the verge of failing epically at it. "Bill's probably already wondering where I am."

"Oh I doubt that." Eric smiled devilishly at me. I was bonded to Bill too. Wherever he was, he knew where I was, and what I had just been feeling.

I squeezed my eyes closed, and wondered if I could throw myself out one of the large windows a few feet behind me. "This is over. Right now, Eric. Our deal is off. I don't work for you anymore." I figured this was the only way. "You got what you wanted, and now it's done."

"It's not over." Eric assured me, stepping out of my path.

"Fuck you." I answered, and then stormed out of his room before I could do something else I would regret.

I got back to my room to find Bill in the shower, of all places. Without a second's hesitation, I pulled off my robe and nightgown, and got in there with him. "Where have you been?" Bill asked me when he felt my hands on his back.

"Couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk." I kissed his shoulders.

"I was worried about you." He didn't turn around.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I'm fine." I promised him, although I think we both knew that was a lie.

"I'm just glad you're back." He turned, and pulled me into a hug under the warm water that would wash away all traces of Eric.

"Me too." I smiled up at him.


	2. Thinking of You

I failed to mention in last night's A/N that this is the story that earned me the title of "Cliffhanger Queen". You'll be seeing LOTS of those here. Fortunately, this story is finished and I will be able to upload multiple chapters in a day if I wish. Just depends on how nice I feel like being. Yes, I'm the devil. I am completely aware of how evil I am. Also, each chapter was inspired by a song. Last chapter was "Do Me A Favour" by the Arctic Monkeys. This time around I was inspired by Katy Perry. The song still gives me chills when I listen to it. Okay, enough out of me. See you at the bottom *waves*

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Chapter Two: Thinking Of You

I got the distinct feeling that Bill knew something was different about me, but I wasn't sure he knew I'd just had my world rocked by the sexy vampire down the hall. Wait...did I just call Eric _sexy_? Oh my. This can't be good. Just three hours ago, I loathed Eric, and now I'm calling him sexy? Laying so close to Bill was hard for me after that realization. When the sun came up, he shutdown the way he always did for the day, and for a while, I just watched him laying there. I had never wished to hear his heartbeat before, but I did just then. I think I would have found it reassuring, somehow. But of course, he was just dead. His skin was so cold under my warm cheek, and there was no breath to raise and lower my head that was resting on his chest. There were no little noises coming from his stomach, or twitches of movement in his fingers. For the next twelve hours, I was on my own.

Given the catastrophe of the day before, I was pretty eager to get on the first plane I could back to Dallas, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. There were meetings to attend with Nan Flannigan, whom I'd been seeing on television for years, promoting vampire awareness, calming the frenzied nerves of American citizens who were terrified at the thought of vampires occupying the same space as them. I tend to think it's a little bit worse in the south, what with all of the racial tension still left over from The War. It never ceases to amaze me how there are just some people who are stuck in their ways, and always will be. Then it dawned on me that I'd just had sex with one of those people a few hours before.

Eric was never going to change, but at a thousand plus years old, I wasn't really expecting him to. So far, his way had kept him alive. For him, that was reason enough to be who he was. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure if I liked him as he was, but I don't know if I'd like him any more if he were any other way. He just is who he is. So is Bill. Although, I'd have to say that Eric seems to have adapted to the modern world much better than Bill has. Bill doesn't even seem to like the fact that he's got running water in his house now. One of the first times I was in his house, there was this large metal tub in what had once been maid's quarters. When I asked him what it was for, he told me that it was dragged out once a week for bathing. Just the thought of having to wait a whole week for a bath made my skin crawl. But then, there's a big difference between 1860 and 2009. Strike that. There's a _huge_ difference.

I called down for room service somewhere around noon, since my stomach was growling. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I'd eaten anything. I'd been hungry when we got back to the hotel the night before, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat. After seeing what I saw in Godric's house...I wasn't sure I'd ever eat again. There were body parts all over the place, and there was blood all over everything. I'd never seen anything like it. I thought it was bad when Bill staked Long Shadow, but this was even worse. And then I sucked that bullet out of Eric's chest like a big idiot.

I sat in the small living room area while I ate, and I contemplated what else I could do for the remainder of the day. I sort of wanted to get out in the sunshine and see some of the city, but I was a little afraid of being spotted by some Fellowship member, and being taken against my will. I wouldn't be going anywhere without a vampire escort for the remainder of the trip. Not too long after I finished eating I got a phone call from Isabel's assistant. Nan Flannigan was expecting everyone to meet at Godric's house promptly at ten o'clock. Tardiness would not be permitted. _Well no shit_, I thought to myself as I hung up the phone.

I curled up on the couch to watch a movie for a while, since I had nothing else to do. I was a little disappointed I couldn't find TCM anywhere on the list of channels, but I managed to find a cute love story to watch. After the movie I flipped on the news, and got out my nail polish. I painted my toes a pale shade of pink and waited a half hour for them to dry before deciding to take a long bath. I had nothing else to do, and I could use the relaxation. So, I filled the tub with the warmest water I could stand, and then sunk into it. I put a washrag over my eyes, and let myself just float in the enormous tub. In no time I drifted off. That's probably not the smartest thing to do in a bathtub, but I wasn't worried about drowning. I was a good swimmer, and I knew that if I started to sink, my reflexes would kick in.

What I hadn't counted on was the dream that would come along with my nap. I dreamed that I wasn't alone in the tub. Eric was sitting upright at the other end, and he was rubbing my feet. It was a very human thing to do, and I didn't get the impression that he would ever do that sort of thing. But in my dream, he was very good at it. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly be any more relaxed, he pulled me closer to him, and turned me around so that my back was to him. He rubbed my shoulders and kissed the back of my neck while he did it. He nipped at my earlobes as his hands moved up and down my back. I felt his fingers trailing in the spot where I should have had a hideous scar from the Maenad attack a few weeks before. I gasped when his hand moved around my waist and down past my belly button. I was just getting to the good part of the dream when a cool hand touched my face.

My eyes popped open, and there was Bill. In shock, I submerged myself underwater, but he quickly pulled me up above the surface. My eyes started to sting from the bubble bath that had gotten in my eyes, and I turned on the water to rinse my face. He was waiting for me with a towel when I had gotten the soap out of my eyes. My heart was racing, and I could hardly breathe, but somehow, I managed to climb out of the tub. We didn't say a word to each other, which I was actually thankful for.

Nan Flannigan was much taller than I'd thought she'd be. She was also thinner than I'd thought she was, which was surprising. Her pale blond hair worked perfectly with those intense blue eyes of hers. Her lips were like slashes on her face, and they were deep crimson. Her body was narrow like a strand of angel hair pasta, and she seemed stiffer than most vampires. I wondered how old she was. Something told me she wasn't as old as Eric, let alone Godric, but I'm not sure if that really mattered. In the political world of the vampire, she outranked them both. Her word was essentially law, and whatever she decided in this meeting would not be argued easily.

From the minute I saw Eric, I knew he was prepared to fight for his maker. I wasn't surprised by this one bit. He seemed to delight in the nervousness his appearance caused me, and he slipped me a quick smile before heading into the living room. Godric was sitting on the sofa, looking calm as can be. Isabel didn't share his mellow energy. There were noticeable red stains on her cheeks, which suggested to me that she was feeling incredibly guilty for her role in what had happened. Bill held my hand as we walked into the living room, and I stopped at Godric for just a moment.

"I wanted to say thank you for helping me." I leaned down to whisper to him, even though I knew every vampire in the room could hear me.

"You are welcome. You did a great service to our kind, and it should not be forgotten." He looked at me as he said it, but then stared at Nan Flannigan as if he expected her to write that down.

"Let's get on with it, shall we?" Nan all but rolled her eyes at Godric, and launched into her well thought out speech.

I sat silently beside Bill, since I was an invited guest, but expected not to speak unless spoken to. I couldn't imagine that Nan would have very many questions for me. The fact that Stan, Isabel and Eric had assumed that Godric had been taken against his will was no longer a factor in the decision making process. The bigger issue now, was that Godric had gone to the Fellowship willingly.

"If you wanted to meet the sun, Sheriff, then you could have done so without doing it in a public forum. What you have done is reckless, irresponsible and a threat to all of us." Nan reprimanded him like he was a teenager who broke curfew after getting drunk at a party. "The human casualties alone are a nightmare." She said with disgust.

"They're humans." Eric spoke out of turn, and Nan glared at him.

"That's right, Sheriff. In case you have forgotten, we can no longer kill humans for sport. Things have changed." Nan's fangs were out. Oh my.

"This is my fault." Isabel spoke up. "I should have known that Hugo was a traitor." She looked at her knees with tears in her eyes, and Godric put a reassuring hand on hers. She looked over at him, but only began to cry a little harder.

"As your Sheriff, you are Godric's responsibility. A responsibility that he was willing to give up without a word to anyone, including those he was closest to." Nan's gaze traveled to Eric.

I tried to read the expression on Eric's face, but I couldn't tell if he was angry, upset or just plain sad. Perhaps it was a combination of them all, and maybe a few other things I just couldn't see. Eric wasn't looking at Nan. In fact, I'm not sure he was looking at anything anymore. His eyes were open, but they were vacant. Whatever was going on in his head, it was a big deal. Of course, I'd probably feel the same way if I were in his shoes. That dig at him from Nan wasn't helping matters any either. I let go of Bill's hand. I had the overwhelming urge to cross the room, and sit beside Eric. I wanted to hug him. He looked like he needed it.

Then Nan went a step too far, and Eric was nothing more than a flash across the room. He stood over Nan with his fangs out, ready to attack her. Bill gripped my hand again to keep me from trying to step between them. In his casual way, it was Godric who called Eric off, which was something Eric wasn't happy about. His fangs clicked back in where they belonged, but it was only grudgingly that he slithered back to his seat across the room.

"I take full responsibility for this. There is no need to drag others into my mess. I made a decision, and I expect to be held accountable for it. I resign my post." Godric said in a clear voice, and Eric looked absolutely stunned.

"No." He argued, but it was too late.

"We just need you to sign some paperwork and-"

"No! Godric, this is not acceptable."

"The decision has been made, Sheriff, unless you would like to lose your authorities as well." Nan said pointedly, her eyes fixed on Eric.

Eric was quiet then. "Isabel as been a good second. It is my recommendation that she take my place." Godric looked to Isabel, who was still crying quietly. Little red drops had fallen onto her beautiful off-white skirt. She looked at Godric with amazement.

"That sounds fair." Nan said, much to everyone's surprise. "Come along, Godric." Nan stood to go.

"You are dishonoring an honorable man." Eric stood as well, unable to stop himself from speaking on his maker's behalf.

"It is okay, Eric. This is the way it should be." Godric was so laid back and detached from it all that it only served to make Eric even more angry.

The meeting broke up, and Nan escorted Godric down the hall to another room. Eric went off on his own, and I must confess, I was worried about him. There was a wild look in his eyes, and I knew he was capable of just about anything. Immediately, the idea that he might attempt to stake Nan Flannigan popped into my head. Sure it was against vampire rules, but Eric would do just about anything to protect his maker. I was sure of that. If that meant having to take her down, then he would do just that.

"We should return to the hotel." Bill said beside me, but I let go of his hand.

"Just give me a minute, okay?" I followed Eric out of the room. I wasn't sure of what I was doing, but I couldn't very well do nothing. "Eric?" I closed the door behind us once we were in a separate room.

"You should be with Bill." He told me.

"You know, I wish vampires would stop ordering me around like I don't have a mind of my own. I'm not an idiot." I argued with Eric.

"Now is not the time to discuss what happened last night." Eric wouldn't look at me. He was a slab of stone standing before me.

I took a chance, and walked across the room. I put my hand on his back, and he actually flinched. I peered around him just enough to see small dots of red under his eyes. I didn't say a word. All of a sudden he spun around and kissed me. One of his fangs nicked my bottom lip. I wanted to push him away, but I couldn't. At least not until I felt his hands reaching around to the back of the dress. I struggled for a minute, but I managed to break free of him.

"That's not why I came here, Eric." I wiped my mouth, and licked the small cut on the inside of my lip. I hoped it was small enough that Bill wouldn't notice it. It had to stop bleeding before I got back to him. "I thought you could use a friend." I said weakly.

"A friend?" He almost snarled, but then he smiled at me. "What I need right now is not a friend. Besides, you couldn't possibly understand how this feels." Eric dismissed me.

"I thought you didn't have feelings." I challenged him.

If he weren't in the funk he was in, he probably would have pinned me against the wall and threatened to bite me, but he didn't have that much fight in him at the moment. Rather than stand there and wait for a response I was pretty sure wasn't coming, I walked out on him. If he wanted to be like that, then fine. There's nothing for me to do. I found Bill waiting for me outside the house.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Not really." I sighed, and got in the car that was waiting to take us back to Silent Shores.

Bill and I were still in the hotel lobby when Eric and Godric returned. Eric looked as solemn as I'd ever seen him, and he went straight to the elevators. He was in no mood to chat. Godric, on the other hand, was swarmed by various vampires, all of them congratulating him on his release. They weren't aware that he hadn't been taken against his will. He broke away from the throngs of the faithful, and approached Bill and me. Bill let go of my hand once again, and made some excuse as to why he had to go.

Godric sat down next to me on the blood red sofa, and he looked at me intensely. "You are a most unusual human, Miss Stackhouse."

"How so?" I didn't know if I should be nervous. There was something so gentle about Godric, but I knew he was just as dangerous an any other vampire.

"There is a kindness in your eyes that I haven't seen in humans for many, many years. You see beyond the fang." Godric told me. "You see the soul, which is something most humans assume we no longer have." I wasn't sure of what to say to that. "Eric cares for you deeply."

"You've known him a long time." Was all I could think of to say.

"I am the only person in existence who recalls what he was like as a human." Godric nodded, and he smiled faintly as if he were remembering something.

"What was he like?" I asked because I couldn't help myself.

"Much like he is today, actually, but he had a tan then." Godric snickered with amusement at the memory of his Child with a tan.

"Is he your only Child?" I asked.

"No, but he is the only one who has remained so close to me. The others have gone off to live their own lives. I have let them all go, but Eric...Eric is the only one who has chosen to remain close by." Godric explained.

"Why?"

"Why does anyone stay, Miss Stackhouse?" Godric seemed as curious as I was. "Be gentle with him. He's far more fragile than you might think." Godric warned me, and then he was gone.

* * *

I wasn't quite prepared for the scene I had walked in on. I climbed the steps that lead to the roof of the hotel to find Eric kneeling before Godric, hunched over in sobs I didn't think Eric was capable of producing. Godric put a comforting hand on his Child's shoulder, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. The sky was already starting to lighten. The sun would reveal itself soon. What the two of them said once Eric was back on his feet, I'm not sure. Godric seemed pained by Eric's sadness, but I could tell he was also determined to follow through with his plan to meet the sun. There would be no changing his mind.

Eric stepped toward me because he had no choice. For once, Godric was making a move that Eric wouldn't follow. He would have to retreat indoors and wait for me. He paused beside me, too lost in his grief to shoo me away, or attempt to be embarrassed by the red stains on his face. I reached for his cold hand, and squeezed it tightly in both of mine. I looked up at him with as much compassion and strength as I could muster.

"I'll stay with him for as long as it takes." I promised Eric, and then let him go. He walked down the steps slowly and wordlessly. I waited until Eric was safely inside before stepping a little closer to Godric. "You're sure I can't talk you out of this?"

"It is my time, Miss Stackhouse. Although, I must confess, I didn't think there would be a human beside me, sorry to see me leave." He shook his head in amazement.

"You seem like a good person, Godric."

"I have done things I am not proud of, and not always out of necessity. I have committed sins that are unspeakable, and I have destroyed more innocent lives than I can count. I behaved like a coward, and I justified my actions by telling myself I had no choice. It is all a lie." Godric looked toward the horizon.

"How long will it take?" I asked, since I'd never witnessed something like this before.

"At my age? Not long." He pulled off the linen shirt he was wearing, and dropped it on the roof of the hotel.

"Will it hurt?"

"I expect it will, but it will be over fast. I am ready." Godric looked back at me, and seemed stunned to see me crying. "Why are you crying, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Because I'm sad for you. I'm scared for you. I'm scared for Eric. He loves you a great deal."

"We have been together for centuries." Godric looked to the west at the receding night sky. "There are many feelings there. Eric has a large heart, but it is wrapped in barbed wire. It takes one with skill to make it inside. But he is also quite strong. He will survive this, and I suspect, he will have you to thank."

"What Eric wants from me, I'm not sure I can give." I sniffled.

"I have been on this Earth for more than 2,000 years, Miss Stackhouse, and in that time I have learned one thing that hasn't changed or evolved- love is not a choice. You give it without knowing it, and that goes for vampires as well." Godric told me with a light-hearted certainty to his voice. He turned to the east once again, where the sun was just starting to break over the horizon. He put his arms out, absorbing the first rays of light he'd seen in more than two thousand years. I gasped at the way he lit up. "2,000 years on this Earth, and I will die with a human at my side, crying human tears. 2,000 years, and I can still be surprised. Thank you, Sookie." Godric said to me, and those closed his eyes.

I watched as the light began to heat him up. He smoldered a little, and then bright blue flames danced on his skin. He tilted his head back with an expression of bliss on his youthful face. He burned so hot so fast, and it was only seconds before he was gone. He just disappeared into himself. I stood there, completely stunned by what I had just witnessed. It took a minute or two before I could move again. I walked across the roof, and I picked up the shirt he had dropped on the floor. I folded it gently, and then turned to head back into the hotel. Eric had only a few minutes before his body would shut down for the day, and I wanted to see him before that happened.

I ran from the roof to his room. He'd left his door open for me, and he was sitting on the edge of his bed. His shirt was gone, and I noticed it soaking in the sink to get the bloody tears out of it. I walked over to where he was sitting, with his elbow pressed firmly against his knees. He was still crying, and I wondered if maybe it was because of the pain he could feel through his bond with Godric. It was a bond that was now gone. I held out Godric's shirt to him.

"I thought you might want this." I spoke softly. It took him a minute to realize what I was holding, and his hands actually shook as he took the shirt from me. "You were right earlier. I don't know what you're feeling. Godric was a good man."

When he didn't say anything, I turned to go, figuring it might be better to just leave him be. He grabbed my hand, and when I looked back, I could see he didn't want me to go. His other hand was traveling up my arm, and pulling me back to him. I turned once again, and I stood front in front of him. He pressed his forehead to my stomach, and I watched his shoulders sag and heave as he continued to cry. I ran my fingers through his hair gently, the same way my mother used to do when I had bad dreams at night when I was still a little girl. His hands wrapped Godric's shirt around my hand, refusing to let me go. He made no sound as he cried.

After a few minutes of this, I pulled back ever so slightly, and I tilted his face up toward mine, and I looked at the tracks of his tears. He looked so innocent and scared, and the reasons why I had been so angry with him just vanished. There was definitely a softer side to Eric, and I was starting to see it. I leaned down, keeping my eyes locked on his, and I brushed a kiss on his cheek were there was no blood. I felt another one of those rushes like I had the night before, and I kissed his other cheek. I hadn't removed my fingers from under his chin, and he reached up to take my hand. He pulled me even closer, and my eyes darted down to his mouth. Before I could stop myself, I kissed him.

He let go of my hand so that he could grab the back of my neck, and hold me to him. He stood up slowly, our lips still joined together. He let go of my other hand, along with Godric's shirt, and sat me down on a delicate white chaise lounge near the fireplace. I laid back on the smooth satiny material , and my ponytail fanned out behind my head. He knelt down beside the lounge, and his fangs extended. I wasn't afraid, although I probably should have been. I felt like I was being glamoured, but I knew I wasn't. If Eric had had the capability, he would have done it long ago. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. In that moment, I didn't see his fangs, or the blood on his face, neck and chest. All I saw was a person who was suffering, and my heart ached for him.

My hurt for him was reflected in his eyes, and I reached up to touch his fangs, of all things. It was such a personal thing to do, but I couldn't help myself. His eyes closed slowly as I touched them, and a small sound escaped his mouth. I let my hand fall away, and I rolled my head so that I was looking into the fire. I could feel him looking at my throat as easily as I could feel the change in the air around me. The room was thick with grief, sadness and desire. He turned my face back to look at his, and he lowered himself to me slowly. He kissed me again, slowly and softly, his lips grazing mine along with my cheeks and my jaw. I think he might have even kissed the tip of my nose. The kisses became more hungry and urgent, and before I knew it, I'd been scooped up off the chaise lounge.

He rearranged my body so that I was parked on his lap. With his lips still locked with mine, he reached up and pulled my hair from its ponytail. I broke the kiss, and looked him in the eyes while he ran his fingers through my hair. I kept my face close to his, and an overwhelming urge washed over me to lick the tears from his face. He shuddered against me when he felt my tongue on his cheek, and his hands sank behind my back to unzip my dress. It fell around my waist easily, and I stood to let it fall the rest of the way. He pressed his face against my stomach once again , only this time he kissed the bare skin he found. His hands settled on my hips for a just a second before sliding under my panties, peeling them away from my body. I stepped out of them, and then sat down in Eric's lap once again, only this time, I straddled his strong legs.

His hands roamed and explored wherever they wanted, and I didn't try to fight him off or stop him. I wondered how much time we had before he was done for the day. Sunrise had been at least ten minutes before. I knew that because of his age, he could hold off death for a little while, but not for too long. He seemed to read my concern through the bond, and I found myself on my back with my legs bent. From the way he looked at me, I could tell he didn't want to rush, but didn't have a whole lot of choice. My legs fell open as his pants fell down. He dove on top of me like a horny teenage boy, which completely caught me off guard. Every other move he'd made had been so calculated and planned out, but time was the enemy.

He wasn't as gentle as he'd been the night before, but he was far more emotional now than he had been then. He used all of his frustration and sadness and he thrust it into me. I could feel it all, and by the time Eric was finished, we were both in tears. He collapsed against me, and it took me a minute to realize that if I wanted to get off the bed, I would have to roll him off of me. He was done for the day. I waited a minute before somehow finding the strength to push him off of me. I folded the comforter over him, not that he would feel cold if I didn't. I scrambled to get my clothing back on, and that was when I realized I'd left his door wide open. I hoped that no one had seen what we'd just done, most of all Bill. I zipped myself back into my dress, and pulled on my panties before making a run for it.

I returned to my room to find that Bill was also dead for the day. As exhausted as I was, I pulled off my clothes once again, and threw myself in the shower. I let the warm water fall over my head, and wash away any traces of Eric there might be on my body. I turned to face the bedroom I was sharing with Bill, and I could see him stretched out on the bed. Before I could stop myself, I began to sob.

Later that evening while we were packing to go home (we had a 9:30 flight back to Shreveport), Eric stopped by our room. Bill was less than happy to see Eric standing at our door, and he was even less happy that Eric had come to see me. "I'll only be a minute, Bill. He's just having a hard time because of Godric." I kissed Bill's cheek, and then went out to the hall. "Make it quick." I whispered to Eric.

He grabbed me around my waist, and pulled me around the corner of the hallway. My heart was hammering away in my chest, and I didn't know what to expect. There was this rage in his eyes, and it caused my heart to leap up into my throat. So when he kissed me, it was the last thing I had expected. It was passionate and possessive, and I never wanted it to end. Of course, it had to, because I needed to breathe. I pushed him off of me, and inhaled as deeply as I could.

"I just wanted to say thank you for being there for Godric when I couldn't." Eric touched my cheek with the pad of his thumb, his other hand playing with some of my hair.

"Of course." I nodded, trying to get my pulse to return to normal.

"And I want to apologize for tricking you. I am not sorry that we are bonded, but I am sorry for having to deceive you." He was trying to say the right thing, but I could tell he didn't really mean it.

"No you're not. You did what you did because it was what you wanted to do. Don't apologize for it, Eric. It's done. There's nothing either of us can do to change it." I tried to sound casual about the whole thing, but I knew he could sense my anger. "I have to get back to Bill. I'll see you on the plane."

I walked around the corner to find Bill standing in the doorway of our room waiting for me. He smiled to see me walking toward him, and I smiled back. "Everything okay?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, fine. He just wanted to thank me for staying with Godric last night." I slipped back into our room.

"That was very kind of you." Bill agreed, and planted a kiss on the side of my head before going back to his packing.

"No one should die alone." I said absently, and an imagine of Gran crossed my mind. I gasped, and then ran to the bathroom. Of course, Bill was right behind me.

"What's wrong?" He asked me before I could close the door on him.

"I was just thinking of Gran and-" Before I could say anything more, he pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me a little too tight. "I just need a minute to myself, if that's okay?" I said when he released me.

"Of course." He kissed the same spot on my head, and left me alone.

I looked at myself in the mirror for a long minute, and for the first time, I wasn't sure who was looking back at me.


	3. Give It Up

Ask, and ye shall receive! Another chapter. It's lovely to have them all completed and ready for posting *le sigh*

So, in response to a lot of the reviews I've gotten in the first two chapters, many of you have asked how Bill doesn't know what Sookie's been up to. All I can say is, who says he doesn't? To me, Bill sees Sookie as someone in need of protection and her dealings with Eric are blameless. If she slept with him, it must be because Eric tricked her into it or because he forced her. He doesn't see it as a choice she would actively make. So while he may not have said he knows what's going on, don't think he doesn't. We'll get to that in the next few chapters, I promise, and all hell will break loose when we do. Stick with me, baby birds.

* * *

Chapter Three: Give It Up

Just when I was sure things couldn't be any weirder for me, I found myself between Eric and Bill on the flight back from Dallas. I don't know who's brilliant idea it was for us to fly at night, but I would have to be sure to send them a thank you note for it. I'm just thankful that Pam and Chow weren't on the flight too. I got the distinct impression that Eric wasn't my brother's biggest fan, but I didn't know why. A half hour into the flight, I started to drift off a little bit, and Bill covered me over with one of the blankets in the overhead compartment. It was a sweet thing for him to do. I rested my head on his shoulder, and just tried to relax for a little while. It was going well, until I felt a cool hand under the blanket, and it wasn't Bill who was touching me. All of a sudden, I was upright with wide eyes. This was no good.

"Sookie, are you okay?" Bill asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to smile. "I think I'm going to go sit with Jason for a bit, if that's alright?"

"Of course." Bill stood up to let me pass him, and I moved to the row of seats where Jason was.

I wanted to ask him how he dealt with cheating on his girlfriends. Jason wasn't notoriously faithful, and I figured there had to be some sort of secret to it. However, with their amazing hearing, now wasn't really the time to discuss it. It would have to wait until we were back in Bon Temps. Eric kept sneaking glances back at me, and I kept trying to pretend like I didn't notice. My brother, on the other hand, seemed to catch on to this little game we were playing. When he opened his mouth to speak, I kicked him.

I got as close to his ear as I could and I said, "I'll tell you later."

Jason was giving me the most amused look he could, and I knew he was surprised by me. Up until Bill, I'd never had a steady boyfriend, much less a fella I could cheat on. The strange thing is that Jason was almost proud of me for what I'd done. Great. That's just great. I wasn't proud of myself. I didn't even know what the hell I was doing. What I **did** know was that I was trying to figure out how close the bathroom was, and how long I could be gone before Bill would figure out I was missing. Oh my.

Was all of this because of the blood I had in my system now? Was I only feeling this way toward Eric because he'd tricked me into sucking that damn bullet out of his chest? I didn't know. To be honest, at that point, I didn't really care. I was feeling pretty disgusted with myself, and my brother's feelings of pride toward me weren't really helping matters. I wasn't a cheater. Well, I'd thought I wasn't. But was this really my fault? I mean, the V is a powerful thing. It can make perfectly sane people go completely crazy. Can I really be held accountable for what I've done with Eric?

I shook my head and exhaled loudly. _Maybe_ the V would excuse the first time, but last night...last night was a choice. I could have just returned Godric's shirt and gave Eric my condolences. I didn't have to give him access to my body, but I did. And I'd done it with less internal struggle than I'd done it the first time. And now, here I am on an airplane with my boyfriend and my brother, and I'm thinking about whether or not I can sneak into a tiny bathroom for a few minutes without anyone noticing. This just isn't right.

The plane couldn't land fast enough in Shreveport, and I was thankful that sunrise would be soon. Since there was no guarantee we'd make it back to Bon Temps before the sun rose for the day, Bill loaded himself into his travel coffin. Eric was trying to find a reason to delay his departure from the airport. There was a car ready and waiting to take him back to Fangtasia. I was surprised Pam wasn't there waiting for him, to be perfectly honest. I would have thought she'd want to hear everything that had happened.

"Sookie, can I speak with you for a moment?" Eric asked once it was just airline employees in the hangar.

"If you make it quick." I said pointedly.

"Sookie, let's go!" Jason called out.

"I'll be right there. Eric needs to talk to me." I called in return, and then followed Eric through a doorway that put us in a dark hallway. "What do you need, Eric?"

"Just you." He pinned me against the wall and kissed me. Oh my.

"We can't keep doing this, Eric. I'm with Bill." I whispered, but I didn't push his hands away when he started pulling up my skirt.

Nor did I push him away when his hand found its way into my panties, or when I heard the distinct sound of the zipper of his jeans lowering. My body shook just a little bit, but in a good way, as he lifted me up off the floor. My legs wrapped around his waist, and my arms went around his neck. Knowing we didn't have much time, he thrust into me hard and fast, and it didn't take long before both of us were breathing hard and stifling moans and growls. My whole body tensed around him, and I'm pretty sure I saw stars for a second. I kissed his neck, face and lips before letting him put me down. I smoothed out my dress, and made sure my hair wasn't too wild. I didn't wait for Eric to get is pants back on before walking out of the little hallway. I did, however, look over my shoulder before getting in the van that would take us back to Bon Temps. Eric winked at me, and then he was gone.

From the second we rolled into Bon Temps, it was obvious that something drastic had happened since either of us had been home last. The town looked like it had been devastated by a hurricane, but it didn't take long to figure out what had caused all of the damage. A woman leaped out in front of our van, and nearly got run over. When Jason and I sprang out of the van to check on her, her eyes were black pits with no emotion or feeling in them. She took off running before Jason or I could take stock of her injuries. I had a hard time recognizing her, but then I remembered she worked at the reception desk at the nail salon on the outskirts of town. Her name was Brandy Wynne.

"What the fuck did we miss, Sookie?" Jason's eyes were as wide and confused as my own.

The driver was a little panicked from having hit Brandy, and he needed a few minutes to compose himself before he was able to get back behind the wheel. I had him drive past my house, and I realized that whatever had been going on at Bon Temps, my house had become party central. I was not at all happy about this, and neither was Jason. Unfortunately, there were a whole bunch of people out in the front with the same black pits for eyes.

"What do we do now?" Jason looked to me, and I shrugged.

"Driver will you take us down the road a piece?" I asked the man up front who was still a little shaken.

"Where we going?"

"Well, Bill needs to be put in his hidey-hole for the day. We might as well stay there." I shrugged.

"You want me to stay in a vamp's house?" Jason seemed highly offended by the very thought of it.

"You got any other ideas? Look, Jason, whatever is going on here, we have to stick together on this." I told him.

"What we need to do is look for people who ain't been infected. Maybe it's like in one of them zombie movies, Sook?" He suggested.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we have to stay together." I insisted.

"What's the deal with you and Eric?" He asked out of nowhere.

"I'd rather not discuss it at the moment. We have more important things to think about." I knew Bill was out cold for the day, but I still didn't feel right talking about what I'd done with him right behind me like he was.

"It's always the quiet ones you gotta look out for. Y'all always have the most bones in your closet." Jason shook his head, still amused with my situation.

I glared at my brother. "You aren't helping matters any."

"I'm just trying to understand it, Sook. I thought you loved Vampire Bill?"

"I do."

"Nah, you don't." Jason shook his head. "You think you do, but you don't."

"Oh? And how do you know that?"

"Because I been in your shoes before, Sookie. You and me both know I've been around the block, and half the time, I meet someone new while I'm circling it. I'm not proud of it, but I've done my share of cheating on girls. The thing is, I never really cared about any of 'em enough that it mattered much to either of us. But when I was with Amy, I couldn't even think about being with nobody else. That's how come I knew I loved her. She was the only one I wanted. I'm inclined to think it's like that for everyone else in the world too. So if Vampire Bill is really the one you're meant to be with, then Eric shouldn't matter." My brother advised me.

Dammit all if this wasn't the one time he decided to make sense. Usually my brother gets his metaphors all twisted up in each other, and he ends up sounding like a fool. But of course, today was the day when his brain cells decided to function as a team. Dammit. "Couldn't you just lie to me?" I punched my brother playfully.

"I'm not trying to pass judgment on you, Sook. I just want you to be happy. You're my little sister, and I love you. You deserve that much." Jason put his arm around me, and I couldn't help but hug him in return.

"You're a good brother, Jason Stackhouse." I squeezed him around his neck.

"You're not such a bad sister there yourself." He actually kissed the side of my head. He hadn't done that in years.

"You know, once we get this mess all cleared up we should take a trip some place. Maybe go peach pickin' in Georgia or lay on a beach somewhere in Miami?" I suggested.

"That'd be nice." He nodded, and then opened the door of the van for me.

I liked Jason when he was like that. He had it in him to be real polite and soft spoken, and those were the times when I liked him best. I found it harder to like him when he was teasing me giving me a hard time for not being a more "normal" person. He didn't say it out loud, but I knew from his thoughts that he wished I'd get married and have a couple of kids already. It was okay for _him_ to run unattached to anyone, but I was a woman. I should be tied down with babies tethering me barefoot to someone's stove. Well no thanks. I'm not getting married just to get married. I'll get married when I'm good and ready, thank you.

The driver from Anubis was kind enough to deposit Bill's travel coffin into the closet where his hidey-hole was. Lord knows I wouldn't have been able to lift it myself. Another driver would come around to fetch the travel coffin at the next sundown, and I promised I would remind Bill of that. Jason started walking around the house, peeking in one room or another. He was surprised to see almost no appliances in the large kitchen.

"He doesn't eat, Jason. All he keeps in the house is TrueBlood." I reminded my brother.

"That's just weird." He shook his head. "What do you eat when you're here? Don't tell me you feed on him?"

"What? No!" I shoved Jason for even suggesting such a thing, although, I suppose I had done just that once or twice. But when I had, it was because I was hurting in a bad way, and Bill's blood had saved my life. Now I wondered if maybe it had caused feelings to stir in me that were never really there of my own volition (thank you, word of the day calendar.).

"So then what do you eat when you're here?" Jason asked me.

I sighed, and opened a cabinet full of snacks and things that I'd been keeping there. Then I went to the fridge and showed him that I kept food in the house for myself. I didn't starve when I was at Bill's, that's for sure. In fact, he was always reminding me to eat. I knew I'd lost weight since I'd started seeing him. There were times when it just slipped my mind that I needed food. But forgetting to eat was a dangerous thing, and I really couldn't afford to end up anemic, or in the hospital because my blood count was too low.

Once Jason got himself under control, I found Bill's phone, and dialed the number for Merlotte's. It was early, but usually Sam was in the bar putting away new orders or taking inventory at this time of day. It was just after eight in the morning on a Tuesday. That meant he would be getting a delivery from the beer distributor soon. He got deliveries from the beer guy on Tuesdays and Fridays every week, without fail. There was no answer at Merlotte's. So, I called Sam's trailer instead. Still no answer. Something was wrong, I just knew it. Sam was always around to answer one of those two phones. I dialed the bar again, but there was still no answer.

"Jason, something's gone wrong at the bar." I said anxiously.

"Maybe Sam's still sleeping." Jason suggested.

"No." I shook my head defiantly. "He's always up to get the beer order on Tuesday."

"Well, you could try Terry. Maybe Terry knows where he is. Or Lafayette?"

"Lafayette'll kill me if I wake him up."

"Well if something has happened to Sam, don't you think he oughta know about it?" Jason pointed out. "Where are your car keys?"

"Why?"

"Well, I'll go check on Sam for you."

"Jason, no, you don't have to do that."

"Sure I do. Sam's a friend, ain't he? It's what friends do. Besides, I don't want you getting mixed in with any more crazy people than you already are. You just stay here and wait for me to get back." Jason insisted when I handed over my car keys.

If, for some reason, I had to leave, I could always drive Bill's car. But I was starting to think that maybe Jason had the right idea. Maybe it was better if I stayed right where I was. I might have felt better about that if Jason had come back by sunset. As it was, I was completely alone in Bill's house when the sun sank below the horizon, and I hadn't heard a peep out of anyone.

By the time Bill rose I was chomping at the bit to get out and take a look around. I was a little scared to be going out at night since I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. Mostly, at that point, I was worried about my brother. He'd been gone almost twelve hours, and he hadn't so much as tried to call me. I'd given him Bill's phone number before he'd left, and I'd made him promise to call me the second he found Sam. My brother was tough, but if there was some sort of magic involved, he was as vulnerable to it as the next human. I worried that he was dead somewhere, and I didn't want him dying alone the way Gran had. Even Godric hadn't been alone when he'd met his final death.

I had managed to keep my mind off of Eric for most of the day, but I was thinking of him now. We'd need all the reinforcements we could get, and I was seriously contemplating calling Fangtasia. I knew, however, that Bill would be furious with me for it. I wondered just how strong the blood bond was I had with Eric. Bill had always been able to sense when I was in danger, but he was never more than a few miles away from me. Would Eric be able to sense danger all the way from Shreveport? I wanted to ask, but now definitely wasn't the time.

"Sookie, I know you are worried about your brother, but-"

"But nothing, Bill, and it's not just my brother I'm worried about. Whatever it is that's got a hold on the people in this town, we have to find a way to stop it. It's not right." I argued with him.

"Sookie, I don't even know what it is we're dealing with. It could be any number of things, and I don't know if just the two of us are going to be enough to stop it." Bill looked at me with this hopeless expression.

"We could call for help." I reminded him.

"Who?" He asked, and then a light bulb went on over his head. "Eric? Oh no. No, we are _not_ calling Eric. I do not want to be in his debt, and neither do you."

"He owes me one for that trick he played on me in Dallas. Besides, what can it hurt to ask him for information?"

Bill actually smirked at me. "Anything Eric does comes with a price, Sookie. You, of all people, should be aware of that by now."

_If only he knew how true that was_, I thought to myself. "Look if my brother's life is at risk, not to mention my boss and just about every friend I've ever had, then it's worth it to me to owe Eric a favor. So if you won't call him, then I will." I told Bill.

He sighed in frustration, but then went to get the phone. Being stubborn sometimes paid off. I paced the front porch, listening to the faint sounds of music and howling over at my house less than a mile to the south. I didn't know who was responsible for all of this, but I had a pretty strong feeling that Maryann was somehow involved. From the second I met her I had the feeling that something wasn't quite right about her. And since Tara was living in my house...

"Tara!" I gasped, and had to fight the instinct to run through the cemetery to get home. There were footsteps behind me, and Bill looked grievous.

"What'd he say?" I asked impatiently.

"He will come, but I will owe him a favor." Bill's voice was colder than usual.

"Thank you." I stepped closer to Bill and hugged him. He didn't hug me in return, so I cut the hug short. "How soon will he be here?"

"It won't be long. Eric has...Eric moves very quickly when he wants to." Bill was hiding something from me.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm going to go feed." He looked completely distracted.

I sat on the porch steps to wait for Eric. I expected him to pull up in a car, and was caught completely off guard when he landed on his feet in front of me. I almost screamed at the sight of him, but my hand covered my mouth before any sound escaped. For a few seconds we just stared at one another. He was enjoying the shock on my face. Eric could fly? Well how do you like that? Huh...

"That didn't take long." I tried not to sound too impressed or excited to see him, even if I was feeling both of those things in mass quantities.

"Bill said you were in trouble, but you seem just fine to me." Eric looked me over.

"Well, you already knew I was fine, right? The blood bond would have told you if I was in trouble, wouldn't it?"

"It would."

"So then why did you agree to come here?"

"Because I like when people owe me favors. Makes it much harder for them to say no to something I want."

"So the possibility that my life could very well be in danger in no way factored into your decision?"

"I didn't say that."

Bill appeared in the doorway with a bottle of TrueBlood in his hand. "Eric." He nodded respectfully.

"So, just what are we dealing with here?" Eric put his hands on his hips, and that was when I saw what he was wearing.

I snickered, and then I burst out laughing. I was doubled over I was laughing so hard. "Spandex? Are you serious?" I hugged the railing on the patio. "Why in the world are you wearing spandex?" I couldn't stop laughing. There were tears coming out of my eyes, and my nose was starting to run I was laughing so hard.

Eric looked down at the outfit he was wearing, and then looked back at me. "Tonight is one of those theme nights Pam worked out for the bar." He explained.

"And you let her dress you in spandex?" I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. I couldn't afford to have him change his mind about helping us. "Actually, this is perfect. What else could possibly get people's attention better than a giant Viking vampire in aqua spandex?" I snickered again.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is figure out what it is we are dealing with." Bill said.

"You said that some people have taken over Sookie's house?" Eric asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Then we'll start there. How far to your house from here?"

"Less than a mile." I pointed to the south.

"Bill, you stay here in case Sookie's brother returns." Eric decided, stopping Bill in his tracks.

"No, Eric, what if something happens and-"

"We won't be going to ground, Sookie. So unless they shoot silver bullets at me, we'll be perfectly safe." Eric assured me.

"Eric, I must insist on going along." Bill spoke up.

"You'll stay here and wait. You asked for my help, and that's what you're getting. So wait here. We will be back soon." Eric promised Bill, who looked strained. He wasn't happy about sending me off alone with Eric. Frankly, I couldn't blame him. And if it had been just a week before, I would have all out refused.

"If anything happens to her-"

"Bill, I'll be fine. Don't worry." I pushed Bill back from Eric when he started to get that ominous threatening face on. "I'm sure Eric won't let anything happen to me, right Eric?"

"Absolutely not." Eric agreed, his face expressionless when I looked back at him.

Bill didn't look convinced, but he didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. Since Eric was the superior vampire Bill had no choice but to sit back and wait while I went out scouting the town with Eric. Really, it made sense. Flying through town would be much quicker than driving, and I sincerely doubted that the residents of Bon Temps had taken to loading their shotguns with silver bullets in the last few days. I kissed Bill goodbye, and then went down to the lawn where Eric was waiting for me.

"If Jason calls tell him to stay where he is. We'll come to him." I told Bill, and then we were gone.

* * *

**Mmmmmmm spandex-covered Eric *le drool* I was so bummed that didn't make it to the show. There'll be more spandex-covered Eric next chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Great Companion

Chapter Four: Great Companion

Trying to focus on the business we had to take care of with Eric wearing spandex was _not_ easy. Especially with our bodies as close together as they were. I was starting to think maybe it would be better if Bill had come along with us. I would have a much easier time controlling myself if Bill were standing close by with a watchful eye on us. Of course, I was also curious as to what sort of theme Fangtasia had going on that required Eric to be dressed in spandex. I was also wondering how Pam had been able to talk him into wearing it. I tried to imagine that conversation in my head, but we were flying over my house before I could really wrap my mind around it.

"There." I pointed to the house.

It was all lit up, and loud music was blaring from inside it. There were people dancing (most of them, I'm sorry to say, were completely naked) and laughing in my yard. Their eyes all looked like Brandy Wynne's had, and I wondered just what the hell it was that had a hold on them. Then I saw Maryann sort of shimmering and shaking in the yard. She had this weird mask on, and there are a few people having sex on the lawn.

"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath.

We started to descend, which only tightened my grip on Eric. I did _not_ want to end up on that lawn. I had a feeling that nothing good would come from me showing up. The anxiety that caused me to squirm against Eric caused a very specific reaction from him as well, but I did my best to ignore it because now was definitely not the time for that. I couldn't help but snicker, however. I could only imagine the looks on the faces of all these people to see a well over six foot tall Viking vampire dressed in spandex while...aroused, to put it nicely. Oh my.

"I thought you said we were staying in the air?" I asked once we had landed near the woods behind the house. Everyone seemed to be out front, but there was no guarantee we wouldn't be surrounded if we were spotted.

"I was hoping we would be able to." Eric was scanning the area, and when I opened my mouth to say something else, he signaled for me to stay quiet. He was hearing something I couldn't.

He took my hand and pulled me along behind him. I was having to trust him in a pretty big way, at the moment, but for some reason it was easier to do that now. I'm not sure why, exactly. I would hate to be one of those girls who let a few good (okay amazing) orgasms change her opinion of a guy, but I think it was more than that. If there was one thing I was learning about Eric it was that he always kept his word. He didn't make promises easily, so if he promised to keep me safe, I knew that he would. We made our way up to the house, and I was disgusted to find Jane Bodehouse on my service porch, severing her finger.

"Heya Sookie, look what I've got." She held up her left ring finger in her right hand. "When He comes, He's going to be so pleased."

"Jane, that's your finger." My hand flew to my mouth so I wouldn't throw up all over Eric. With all the things I'd seen in the last week...well...I didn't need to see any more severed body parts, lets put it that way.

"I know. He's going to love it." She said with pride. "If you're looking for Maryann, she's out front."

"Thanks, Jane." I nodded at her. Her calm attitude set me on edge. Everyone else seemed to be so frenzied and wild, and there was Jane, cool as a cucumber, in spite of just having cut off her own finger.

"I take it Maryann is the one that was wearing the bull mask?" Eric looked back at me.

"You got it."

"And who is this man they're waiting for?"

"Beats the hell out of me." I shrugged, and followed Eric into the house.

I stopped short when I saw what had been done to it. The place looked like it'd had a bomb dropped on it. Dishes were broken. There was spray paint on the walls. My Gran's curtains were torn to shreds. Windows were smashed out. The floors were scuffed beyond repair. I would have to replace the hardwood or tiles all over the place. And there was an odor to the house that I couldn't quite place. It was stale and slightly nauseating.

"What is that smell?" I put my hand over my nose.

"Death." Eric said without looking at me.

"I'm sorry I asked." I muttered. "What are we looking for, Eric?"

"Anything. I need some sort of clue-" He stopped there.

"What? Eric? Eric, what?" I was tugging on the sleeve of his coat, and he nodded straight ahead.

Out in the front yard we could easily see Maryann, thanks to the bonfire that was threatening to set fire to the lemon tree that had been in the yard for as long as Stackhouses had been living on the property. Maryann's head had shifted so it was now the head of a bull, and her hands had shifted as well. Those claws! I'd know those anywhere.

"She's the one who attacked me in the woods." I breathed, flashing back on that night in the woods. The pain had been horrendous. There aren't words enough to describe just what I'd had to endure to heal from those wounds. It was pain unlike any I'd ever felt before.

"_She's_ the maenad? Interesting." Eric said in such a fashion that I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"What _is_ a maenad, exactly?" I asked him.

"I don't really know, but I know someone who might." Eric looked down at me. "Lets get out of here." Eric took my hand again, and we turned around to go.

"You're not going anywhere." Jason stood before us, his eyes black pits like everyone else's.

If I hadn't been with Eric, I would have been in big trouble. "Eric, don't hurt him." I pleaded when he picked up my brother with just one hand. "That's my brother Jason." I reminded him when his fangs clicked out.

"We have to do something with him, Sookie. We can't just let him run free." Eric held Jason up, who was kicking and squirming with all his might to get away from Eric. One of Jason's knees caught Eric in the groin, and his reflexes forced him to let go of Jason.

"Jason, you stay away from me. We're here to help you." I held up a hand, stupidly hoping that it would be enough to keep him away. I backed up as I talked until I was against some of the counters. I could feel my Gran's old rolling pin on the counter, and I picked it up. It was the only weapon easily at my disposal, and as much as I didn't want to use it, I didn't have much choice when Jason lunged at me. So, I whacked him over the head. "I'm sorry, Jason."

Jason went down like a sack of potatoes, and I helped Eric out of the house. His face was still a little red, and I was surprised to find out that a kick to that area on a dead man was just as painful as it was to a live one. Eric was actually limping back to the woods. Under other circumstances, I probably wouldn't have felt so bad for him. I'm sure he hadn't anticipated this happening when he'd agreed to lend a hand.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a minute.

"Not really." He said bluntly.

"Sorry. You know, Jason's not usually like that." I apologized on my brother's behalf.

"He was a member of the Fellowship." Eric reminded me, and that stung.

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that whole thing. I hadn't really taken the time to process it all. I was trying to take into consideration that part of his confusion had to do with Amy's death. Amy had died because Rene was crazy. What I couldn't understand is how my brother would get involved with a group of people with a mind set so similar to the one Rene had when he came to vampires and fangbangers. How could he find solace in a group like that? They bred hate and spread a lot of misinformation to a group of people who were scared and looking for answers. To make matters worse, my brother was blaming vampires for Amy's addiction when it wasn't their fault. She had chosen to get involved with V. Unless they're trying to turn you, most vampires aren't going to just offer up their blood to a random stranger. If you get addicted to V- just like with any other drug- it's because you want to. It's no accident.

"He was confused, Eric." I said lamely, but even I wasn't buying it. "He's done with the Fellowship now. He's learned from his mistake."

"Are you sure about that?" Eric wasn't convinced. Frankly, I wasn't so sure Eric was wrong to ask.

"What are we going to do about Maryann?"

"Nothing." He said simply.

"What? No Eric, we have to do something! We can't just let her keep this up." I insisted.

"Sookie, I don't have the necessary knowledge to defeat her. Someone will have to make a trip to New Orleans to speak with the queen about this. She is the only one I know who might be able to help us here." Eric explained to me.

"So what are we waiting for?"

"I can't just go to New Orleans. I have to remain at my post, and if I were to leave now, I would be held there until _at least_ the next sundown." Eric told me.

"So can't we call her?"

Eric chuckled at this suggestion. "No, we cannot just call her. Someone must be sent to her." Eric's eyes glimmered. "Bill will go."

I scoffed at this idea. "He's not going to like that."

"Then I guess it is unfortunate that he doesn't get to make the rules in Area 5." Eric reminded me.

I didn't know how to feel about this either. That was a lot of time to have alone with Eric, and I knew that Bill was going to push for me to be allowed to go with him. Truthfully, I wasn't sure I wanted to meet the queen. I'm sure she's a great gal, but I know enough vampires already. And if Eric is right about having to stay until the queen releases her callers, then I definitely don't need to be stuck in New Orleans. Bill can always call from the road with the information we need. But I need to be here to make sure that Jason is okay, and that my house isn't blown up in the process.

"We need to fly by Merlotte's before we go back to Bill's." I told Eric.

"The Shifter's bar?" Eric wasn't at all impressed with Sam. I suspected that had something to do with Sam's less than welcoming attitude toward him and Pam the first time they'd come to town.

"Be nice." I glared at Eric. "You weren't exactly on your best behavior that evening, and Sam never did anything to you. He certainly didn't have anything to do with those dumb rednecks who burned up that nest."

"That is the least of my concerns now." Eric dismissed me.

"Eric, not everyone around these parts is intolerant of vampires." I reminded him.

"No, they're just intolerant." He argued, and I glared at him. "They have treated you differently because of your ability. They aren't crazy about having Bill in town. Do you really think they'd look at the Shifter the same way if they knew his little secret?"

I hated that Eric was right. He had a very good point, and for just a second, I considered letting them all fend for themselves. But giving up would mean losing my brother to something that didn't deserve to have all of this power. Even if I didn't like how small-minded some people were, that didn't give me the right to just sit back and do nothing while the town just imploded on itself.

"Does that mean I shouldn't be fighting for the people I love?" I argued in return. I realized then that this was how it would always be between Eric and I. He was so willing to turn his back on humanity, while I was always going to be fighting for it. "Besides, what if this _thing_, whatever it is, gets a hold of me?"

"That won't happen." Eric said easily, and then after a moment's pause said, "We should get going to the Shifter's bar."

I bit my bottom lip to hide my smile, and then let him pick me up so we could take off again. We flew over Bon Temps in the early shades of night. Stars were just starting to show themselves, and it was a beautiful evening in Bon Temps. Too bad something so crazy was happening. I would have loved to just take a long walk, or sit on my front steps and watch the sky change from indigo to inky black the way it always did. Before I knew it, we were hovering over Merlotte's. The bar was dark, as was Sam's trailer, and I was suddenly scared that something had gone horribly wrong for Sam. Eric slowly descended to the ground, and that's when I saw the front door of the bar was wide open. That wasn't a good sign.

I stayed behind Eric, our hands twined together. My hand seemed so small in his. He stood in the doorway, scanning the darkness of the bar. I dropped my mental shields and listened for brains inside. I didn't want to use my voice unless I had to. No sense in alerting potential predators to our presence if I didn't have to. I didn't detect any brains, and Eric didn't seem to see anyone inside. So, cautiously, we stepped into the dark bar, neither of us sure what might be waiting inside for us.

Walking behind Eric was certainly more of a treat than it usually was, thanks to the spandex Pam had dressed him in. While it still made me giggle a little on the inside that Pam laid his clothes out for him like he was a child, I found it interesting that he would just take her word for it when she told him what to do. Although, if Eric absolutely trusted anyone in his life not to steer him in the wrong direction, that person seemed to be Pam. I had mixed feelings about her. She never seemed all that happy to see me, but I suspect it was because she felt like I was poaching on her territory. Vampires are possessive and jealous by nature, and I don't think she much liked Eric's fascination with me. What was so special about a little waitress from Bon Temps, anyway? I asked myself that question all the time.

I got so distracted by that beautiful butt of his that I didn't notice when he stopped suddenly, and I bumped into him. It was like hitting a brick wall face first. Not fun. "Sorry." I apologized in the tiniest whisper I could manage. It was clear as a bell to him.

He looked down at me, and then pointed toward the kitchen. He'd heard something I hadn't. He moved so he was in front of me once again, although, with my luck, we'd end up attacked from behind. We walked through the employee hallway to the entrance to the kitchen. There was random produce scattered on the floor. Produce came on Monday. That meant I was far too late to help Sam out of whatever jam he was in now. I scanned the building again for a brain, and finally, I found what Eric had heard. There was someone in the refrigerator! I scrambled forward, intending to open the fridge, but Eric held me back.

"You don't know what's in there." He whispered.

"It's human. I can read the brain." I whispered back, and tried to pull my hand free from his, but he wasn't about to let go. So, with one free hand, I unlocked the giant fridge, and pulled the door open.

The light inside the walk-in buzzed to life, and a few seconds later I found Sam curled in a ball on the floor. I couldn't tell if he was knocked out, or just sleeping there. He was naked, which told me he'd been in his shifter state when he'd been put in the fridge. Although, who would have put a collie in a walk-in fridge, I'm not sure. I was pretty sure Sam hadn't locked himself inside. The condition of the kitchen caused me to think there had been a struggle at one point or another. I knelt down beside Sam, and put a hand on his shoulder. He was a little too cold for my liking.

"Sam?" I whispered at first, but when I got no answer, I called to him again a little louder. "Sam! Come on, wake up!" I shook him. It took a minute, but eventually, his eyes opened.

"Sookie?" He lifted his head, and looked up at me. Then his eyes went to Eric, and he looked more concerned than usual.

"Sam, how long have you been in here?" I asked him.

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

"Then since yesterday morning, right after the produce guy was here. I was in the middle of putting things away when Eggs and Terry showed up, talking about how they needed a sacrifice for He who comes." Sam was dazed, and probably pretty hungry. He tried to get up, but his legs were a little on the weak side from being curled up for so long.

"Is your trailer unlocked? I'll go get you some clothes." I offered.

"What are you doing here, Sookie? You should get the hell out of here." Sam told me.

"And leave you here? Never. Besides, Maryann has Jason, and-"

"You know where I keep my spare key." He cut me off, knowing he could argue until he was blue in the face, and I wouldn't change my mind about leaving town. "Eric." Sam nodded.

"Shifter." Eric responded.

"His name is Sam." I glared at Eric. "You two try and behave yourselves while I go get Sam some clothes."

"You can't go out there alone, Sookie." Sam said.

"Yes I can. There aren't any other people around. I'll be fine." I insisted.

"I agree with the Shifter." Eric concluded.

"Then it's luck for me that it's the year 2009, and I don't need permission from either of you to do things. I'll be right back." I promised, and took off for Sam's trailer. I always knew my stubborn streak was going to get me in trouble. What perfect timing it had, too.

* * *

The back of my head was throbbing when I woke up. I'd been hit with something, but I had no idea what had struck me, or who had wielded the blow. I woke up in the pitch dark, and it was cold. It took me a minute to figure out I was back in the same walk-in refrigerator I had come to free Sam from. I scanned the building for a brain, but couldn't find one. I tried not to panic, since I'd been in worse situations than this one.

"Eric?" I whispered, hoping that he was in the fridge with me, but I was greeted with silence. I crawled around the floor until I found the door, and then I reached up for the light switch.

The light buzzed on, and I looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary was in the fridge with me. My breath came out in little white puffs. The door to the fridge wasn't locked, so I opened it. Tomatoes were crushed on the kitchen floor, and there were stray leaves of lettuce strewn about. An extremely sharp knife had been plunged into a wooden cutting board on one of the counters, but I was thankful not to see blood anywhere.

"Eric?" I whispered once again, knowing he would hear me now if he were somewhere inside the bar. I heard a faint moan come from the dining area of the bar, and I slowly made my way up to the front.

I moved carefully, and quietly. I touched the back of my head to find a lump forming from where I'd been hit. There was a small cut on the back of my head, and it opened when I touched the bump. I moved through the bar to the dining room, and I scanned again for brains. Nothing. The bar was dark, and I was afraid to turn on the lights and alert someone that I was conscious again, and moving around.

"Sookie." Eric said, and I whipped around to my left.

Eric was laying on the pool table with silver all over him. I gasped at the site, and then at the smell. There was a distinct smell that came from vampire flesh being burned with silver, and it made my stomach turn. I'd had to pull silver off of Eric before, and I hadn't enjoyed it. Pieces of his skin would come with the silver, I knew that much, but I also knew that if I didn't get the silver off of him it would eventually kill him. But still, I froze just for a minute.

"Eric, who did this?" I asked, but he couldn't talk.

"Silver." He growled, and I knew that once I got that silver off of him, he was going to need blood. I began to gently peel the silver away from him. "Faster." He gasped.

I closed my eyes, and I pulled. He roared with pain and rage as I pulled he silver from his body. Once it was all off of him, I ran behind the bar to get him a bottle of TrueBlood. I was just bending to take it out of the microwave when I realized he was right behind me. I stood and turned to see there was a brutal and lusty look in his eyes. He took the bottle from my hands, and put it down on the bar. He wasn't interested in the synthetic stuff when he could have the real thing. For the first time, I felt a little scared to be alone with Eric. He'd made me nervous before, of course, but now, I was scared. He was wounded and hungry, and I was no match for him if he decided I was his next meal.

In the faint light coming from the kitchen I could see his golden hair, his bright blue eyes shining at me, and then of course, the glistening of his sharp fangs. I backed myself against the bar, although I don't know what good I thought that would do. Just reflexes I guess. Eric lowered his face to mine. His fangs seemed to be twice as big as they usually were. On total instinct, I slapped him as hard as I could, and yelled at him.

"Eric, now is not the time for this!" I shouted, but it didn't do me much good. The Eric I had started to know was gone, and I was dealing with Vampire Eric. The words _rape and pillage_ came to mind, and there was a terrified chill that ran up my spine. "Eric, please don't." I pleaded with him.

His face was buried in my neck, and I could feel him licking at the blood that had come from the cut on the back of my head. He moved my hair out of the way, but he did so in a relatively gentle manner. Maybe he wasn't as out of it as I'd thought. But then one of his large hands found it's way into the back of my jeans, squeezing and groping at the warm flesh he found, pulling me closer to him. It never ceased to amaze me how a brush with death was a turn-on for a vampire, while for me, it was just terrifying. The last thing I was feeling at the moment was sexy.

But I stayed completely still while he licked the blood off my neck. I hoped that would be good enough. But then I felt the familiar sting of little puncture wounds being made on the back of my neck, and the cool moisture of Eric's tongue licking at the little wounds he'd created. I was hoping the small amount of Eric's blood that was in my system would be enough to heal my wounds so that Bill would never be the wiser to what was happening. That was when I start to get conflicted about my feelings for both Eric and Bill, and a part of me wanted to wash my hands of both of them.

If what Bill said was true about my blood exchange with Eric, then it really did seem possible that maybe my attraction to Bill was based, in large part, because of all the blood we had exchanged. From the very start, we'd been linked together after the attack I'd suffered from the Rattrays. Was my whole relationship with Bill based on some fluke chemical reaction my brain was having to processing his blood? I didn't want to think about it. What I did know, in that moment, was that I had been attracted to Eric before I'd had his blood, even if I hadn't been able to admit it. There was some small part of me that had found him intriguing from the start. I was starting to think the blood had only enhanced that attraction. Maybe it was the same with Bill. I had been attracted to him too, hadn't it? Of course, the blood exchanged happened so fast that it would be almost impossible to separate my genuine feelings from the blood anymore.

There was a firmer sucking sensation on my neck, and I realized that Eric was really feeding on me. I knew better than to squirm, because that would only cause the tender flesh in my neck to tear, and I didn't need that. I would have to really feed on him in order for that to heal quickly, and I wondered if maybe that was his plan all along. I felt his excitement not just through the blood we shared but through the spandex pants pressed against me. Oh my. What have I gotten myself into this time?

"Eric, you have to stop." I told him. I could feel myself going a little faint, and my knees were starting to buckle. It didn't matter. He was holding me up anyway. "Eric, stop." I whispered, and felt my eyes fluttering. I was going to black out if he didn't stop.

He pulled back from my neck, but my eyes had rolled into the back of my head. His hand slid out from the back of my jeans. He shook me gently, trying to get me to wake up. "Sookie." He whispered in my ear, but it did nothing to snap me back to the present.

I felt him moving my body the way he wanted it so that I was laying on top of the bar. He turned my head to the right so I was facing him behind the bar. He tilted my head back and opened my mouth. I tasted the unmistakable texture and sweetness of vampire blood. It was a thick syrupy mess that smelled like a penny. He lowered his wrist to my mouth. I didn't suck on the wound, but I did let the blood flow into my mouth. My eyes opened as his blood took its hold on me, and I sat up slowly with his wrist still on my mouth. I licked the small wound on his wrist, and he growled at me. It was one of those low growls that came from deep inside of him that left no mistaking what he was thinking. I couldn't read his mind, of course, but I didn't need to. It was all in the blood.

The wound had barely closed when he was pulling my shirt up over my head. My heart was pounding, and I wasn't feeling any pain. I pushed Eric's jacket off his shoulders, and he let it fall to the floor. His cool fingers moved up the sides of my much warmer body until his palms were applying gentle pressure on my breasts. My fingers fumbled with his shirt, trying to pull it up. Slowly his body began to rise to compensate for the awkward height difference between us. He just hovered in front of me so that I would have to tilt my head back when he kissed me. With his shirt discarded, I moved my hand down to the spandex and touched him gently. There was another growl escaping his lips and I felt myself starting to melt.

His hand moved up my denim skirt, and he pushed my panties out of the way. I was breathing hard and I wasn't sure my heart could keep up with the rest of me. Part of me knew that I was crazy to let myself get to swept up in sex when there were lives at stake but I couldn't seem to quiet the part of me that wanted it so badly. It was then that I realized I'd never felt so overcome with need for Bill. I'd never had a moment when I'd looked at him and I just had to have him right then and there, and nothing else would do. I was willing to concede that a part of my sudden desire had something to do with the blood flowing through my veins but I knew that wasn't even all of it.

My attraction to Eric was so incredibly complicated but I pushed that out of my mind. I would think about that later on. Right now, all I wanted was for him to wriggle his way out those ridiculously delicious aqua spandex. He pulled up my skirt while I worked on those shorts of his. No sooner had I gotten his shorts half way down his thighs than he was pushing into me. I wrapped myself around him, enjoying each and every thrust into my body. I'd never had sex right after having vampire blood like this and I felt like I could keep going all night long. For once, our energies matched, as did our emotions. This experience was like no other I'd ever had.

It took me a minute to remember that he was still floating, and now we were both in the air. That was also a new thing for me but the fact that we were floating didn't seem to throw Eric off one bit. His arms were wrapped around my waist, and my arms were around his neck. His fangs were still out, but he didn't bite me again, which I was thankful for. Even with his blood in my body, I wasn't sure it was a good idea. He moved one had up to my face, brushing my hair back, and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were so pretty at that moment. They were glowing in the darkness.

Both of us became to engrossed in one another that we didn't hear the back door of the bar open, and we didn't hear the footsteps approaching us until it was too late.

* * *

***twists imaginary mustache* Now, who in the world could that be, coming to intrude on our lovers? Hmmm...I'd offer prizes to the first person to correctly guess if this weren't already posted elsewhere. **

On a completely separate note, I had an idea for a contest but I have no idea how to run one, so if anyone is interested in co-modding one with me, please send me a PM so we can discuss the details.

Thanks for reading, lovelies *hugs***  
**


	5. Tell Me

Y'all have **Modiggy** to thank for this chapter. She threatened to take out a contract with the Long Tooth pack if I didn't post again. Yikes. So here, darlin, this one's for you. We can call off the wolves now, yes? Please keep in mind that this story earned me the title of "Cliffhanger Queen". It's a title I wear with pride. This will also be the last chapter I upload today, so enjoy it. I promise to get another one up in the morning before work. You'll just have to be patient, baby birds. Okay, enough out of me...

* * *

Chapter Five:Tell Me

I was still gasping against Eric's neck, my toes still slightly curled, when he landed on the floor. He held me up effortlessly, which I was thankful for since I didn't think my legs were strong enough for me to stand on them yet. I'd been feeling aftershocks for a little while and he was stroking my back gently. He was whispering Swedish in my ear so I didn't understand what he was saying, but I was pretty sure it was something complimentary. There was one thing for sure about Eric- I'd never have to fake anything with him, and I mean _anything_. It was sort of a comforting feeling, but a little unsettling at the same time.

He had just put me down on the floor when a round of applause broke out from behind us. A figure stepped into the little bit of light coming from the pass in the kitchen, and both of us looked in that direction. My face turned bright red, I'm sure of that. I hadn't realized we weren't alone, and neither had Eric. There in the little bit of light was a tall woman with long blond hair and bright eyes. She wore designer clothing from head to toe and shoes that would have given her away even if I couldn't see her face.

"And you were worried you would look ridiculous in the spandex." Pam shook her head as she stepped closer to us.

I scrambled to find my shirt, while Eric didn't move at all. "What are you doing here? You should be at the bar."

"Bill called. He thought you might need...reinforcements." Pam looked past Eric to me, trying to take in as much of my naked form as she could before I covered it up.

"As you can see, Sookie and I are doing just fine." There was a smirk on his face that wanted to slap right off of it.

"She looks a little weak-kneed to me." Pam tilted her head with faux concern. I tried to keep from looking at her. I was afraid if I did, I would turn to stone or burst into flame. "You don't need to be embarrassed, Sookie. I've had Eric before."

Oh, that so didn't help me feel any better. I yanked my shirt down over my head, and adjusted my skirt. Pam sniffed the air and said, "I smell something delicious, and it's not just sex." Her eyes sparkled. "I think I smell fae."

Eric cleared his throat suddenly and said, "We should be getting back to Sookie's home, and _you_ should be getting back to Fangtasia where I need you the most."

"Nonsense. Chow's running the bar. You know I don't much care for his management style, but I think I could be of _much_ more useful to you here." Pam insisted, and her face brightened with amusement. "Dessutom kommer du aldrig få något gjort om ni två är jucka som kaniner." _Besides, you'll never get anything done if the two of you are humping like bunnies._ "Och jag kan inte tänka mig att Bill skulle vara alltför glada över det heller." _And I can't imagine Bill would be too happy about it either._

I had no idea what Pam was saying, but Eric smiled. "Du har rätt om det, men jag är orolig Bill just nu. Han kommer att ta en resa till New Orleans ändå." _You're right about that, but I'm not worried about Bill at the moment. He's going to be taking a trip to New Orleans anyway._

"Vet han det?" _Does he know that?_, Pam asked. Eric's smile grew, and I'm pretty sure that answered Pam's question. "Du leker med elden, Eric." _You're playing with fire, Eric._

"Jag antar jag, men hon brinner för ljust för att ignoreras." _I suppose I am, but she burns too brightly to be ignored._ Eric stole a glance at me, and now it was Pam's turn to smile.

"Är det sant? Är hon en del älva?" _Is it true? Is she part fairy?_ Pam spoke with a lusty excitement, which made me a little nervous.

"Um, I hate to break this up, but you both realize I'm standing right here, right?" I waved my hand between the two of them.

"Of course. We will go now." Eric said, and finally pulled up his shorts. Modesty isn't Eric's strong suit.

"Come with me, ädla en." Pam held out a hand to me, but then recoiled. "On second thought, you better wash your hands first." She smiled and then pranced in a very cat-like fashion to the door she'd come in through.

"What were you talking about?" I asked when I turned back to Eric.

"She warned me to stay away from you. She thinks you're dangerous." Eric told me in a very straight forward manner that made me snicker.

"_Me_?" I couldn't help but laugh, but Eric wasn't laughing. "And you agree with her?"

"I think there is definitely some truth to her analysis. Lucky for me, I enjoy playing with fire." Eric's fangs finally disappeared. He pulled on his shirt and picked up his jacket. He walked with his hand firmly on my backside as we left the bar.

* * *

Pam kept shooting these loaded stares in my direction as Eric was telling Bill that he had to go to New Orleans to speak to her Majesty, Sophie-Anne. I'd never met the queen, and I wasn't really all that anxious to. Just knowing Eric had gotten me in enough hot water (although I can't solely put the blame on him for recent events). I didn't think my situation could possibly improve by meeting the queen. It seemed to me there had to be another way to defeat Maryann without dragging in another member of the vampire community. Bringing Pam into the mix was bad enough.

"So is that how you always thank someone for saving your life?" Pam asked me once we were alone in Bill's house. Eric and Bill had stepped outside to discuss Bill's trip to New Orleans.

I flushed with mild anger and stared at Pam. "Be careful, Pam, someone might think you were jealous." I answered her.

"Jealous? Hardly." Pam snorted. "As I said before, I've already had Eric. _Many_ times over. He is endowed with many...talents, if I remember correctly."

I was quite certain she was trying to be tactful, but she was also trying to make me blush. "Pam, it is really important that Bill doesn't find out about this."

"You think I don't know that?" Pam chuckled as if to let me know she was simply humoring me. "Oh ädla en, you are so naive."

Bill stomped through the front door. "Pam, I will be needing a minute alone with Sookie." Bill glared hard at Pam, who continued to smile.

If Pam had mixed feelings about me, she hated Bill. She didn't understand his wishy-washy contempt for the vampire community. He hadn't been raised under Eric's thumb the way Pam had, and he didn't share their opinion that vampires were superior to humans. He preferred to be on his own, and live his life the way he wanted to. As far as I could tell, the biggest thorn in his paw was Lorena. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I'd had more than one dream about her meeting the sun when she was unable to find a dark place to rest for the day. But I figured after the damage she'd done in Dallas, I was entitled to feel that way about her.

Pam sauntered out of the room, her hips swaying back and forth in a manner that had all the boys drooling when she was working at Fangtasia. She joined Eric on the porch, and I wondered what they were talking about out there. Bill looked grievous but that wasn't saying much, since he tended to have a face that idled at solemn. He paced anxiously across the living room as if he were trying to find a way to tell me bad news.

"Bill, I already know Eric is sending you to New Orleans." I said for him to save him some trouble.

"You do?" He looked just the tiniest bit relieved.

"Of course. We talked about it while we were at my house." I explained to him.

"Eric discussed his decision with you?"

"Well, not exactly. He said that someone would have to call on the queen, and he couldn't go because he needed to be in his area." I recalled.

"Sookie, I do not like the idea of leaving you alone here with Eric. He has already tricked you once into drinking his blood." Bill stopped pacing, and stared hard at me.

_Oh we're way past that now_, I thought to myself. "Bill, I don't think you need to worry about that. He got what he wanted, and that's the end of it." _In more ways than one._

"It would be foolish of you to underestimate him, Sookie. He is capable of deceiving anyone to get his way." Bill reminded me.

"I know." I nodded, and stepped closer to Bill. "But I can handle myself. Besides, if something goes wrong, you'll know it, right?"

He looked pained then, and I wondered just what it was he already knew but wasn't saying to me. I got the distinct impression he was holding something back. "I must go now, Sookie, if I am to be there before the sun rises. I hope to be home before sunrise on Thursday, but that will be entirely up to her Majesty's discretion."

"I understand. Just...just promise me that you'll call."

"Of course." He pulled me into a hug, and I could feel him inhaling my scent to take with him on his long trip. I loved it when he did that. "I love that I can still smell the sunlight on your skin." He smiled at me before pressing his lips to mine.

"I love you, Bill." I whispered in his ear and kissed a spot just underneath it.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He stroked my hair for a few seconds before letting me go.

He didn't call me sweetheart very often, but it always felt good when he did. That time was no exception. I got the feeling that it might be the last time I would ever hear him call me that. This enormous wave of guilt swept over me. I followed him out of the house. He walked past Eric and Pam without a word, and got in his car. I waved to him from the front steps as he drove away. I knew he was nervous and angry, just like I knew Eric was gloating on the inside.

"Pam you can return to Shreveport now." Eric said calmly.

"As you wish." Pam smiled at me, and paused at my side. "He likes it when you pull his hair." She whispered to me, and then she vanished in a blur of motion.

I stood there on the porch, completely dumbfounded by the change of events. Eric came closer to me, but I couldn't be near him at the moment. "Don't." I put a hand up to stop him from speaking. "I need to be by myself for a while."

"She won't tell Bill what she saw, if that's what you're worried about." Eric promised me.

"I know that. If she told him that would be breaking her loyalty to you, and I know that is something you both take very seriously." I said in a blank tone.

"Then what is the problem, lover?" Eric put a large cool hand on my shoulder, and I dodged out of his way.

"I am very confused right now, Eric, and I need to focus on how to get Maryann out of my house, and away from the people I care about. I can't keep letting you and Bill cloud my judgment."

"Maybe you are finally starting to see things more clearly, Sookie. Maybe _that_ is what scares you."

"What scares me is hurting the one person in the world who has loved me with no strings attached. Bill has been good to me. He trusts me, and I have betrayed that trust. How can I expect him to fight for me when I've done the things I have?"

"Because when something is worth fighting for, you fight for it with no consideration for the cost."

"Sounds like an easy way to end up dead."

"We are already dead." Eric smiled.

"That's not funny." I shook my head, and went inside.

"We can't change what has happened between us, lover. It is forever now."

"Yeah, I know. For the rest of my life, I will carry your blood with me." I groaned with frustration.

"I wasn't talking about the blood, although that's true as well."

"We had sex, Eric. That really doesn't change much. Vampires have sex all the time with people they don't really care about. What makes me different?" I asked him.

"Because I don't share my blood with just anyone, Sookie. You are special. I want you around." He looked me in the eyes when he spoke.

I figured that was the closest I would ever get to an admission of feelings for me, but it didn't really make me feel any better. If what he was after was my loyalty, respect and love, then he was going to have to be willing to offer up those very same things. Relationships have to be fifty-fifty, and right now, everything in my life is out of whack. I started up the stairs to the bathroom, but Eric was at the top of the stairs waiting for me by the time I got there.

"I just need some time to myself." I couldn't look at him.

"I will wait." He stepped out of the way.

I felt his eyes on me as I went to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I doubted that a long soak in a hot tub would make me feel any better, but it was worth a shot.

* * *

I was laying on my side in Bill's bed when I felt something cold press against the back of my head where the bump had been. Eric's blood had cured all of the hurt, but it was still a nice gesture. I didn't have any words to say to him, but he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk anyway. It surprised me when I felt him lay down next to me in a cuddly sort of way with his arm draped over me. It was cool and heavy, and it felt familiar. I closed my eyes again, and I went back to sleep. There was nothing else I could do until we got word from Bill, and I was sure he hadn't reached New Orleans yet. The last thing I remember feeling is Eric snuggling against me, and inhaling the scent of my hair.

I woke in the morning to find that Eric was gone. I wondered where he'd gone off to. I didn't know if he knew about Bill's hidey-hole or not. Maybe he'd flown back to Shreveport for the day? Then I remembered we still had the travel coffin from Anubis in the living room. Bill had put it there after he'd risen the night before so it could be picked up by the airline. I worried that Eric was inside. There was no way for me to check without causing him some sort of damage. I slid out of bed, and went to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth. Thankfully I had my suitcase from Dallas with me, or I wouldn't have had clean clothes to wear. As it was, I would have to wash what I had with me. I was thankful Bill had given in and bought a washer and dryer, because I was afraid to go into town to the Fluff-N-Fold. The farther away I could stay from town, the better I would be.

But I was worried about Sam. I had gotten so wrapped up in my own problems the night before that I had forgotten to ask Eric what had happened to Sam after I'd been knocked out, and now I would have to wait until sundown. I called the bar and then Sam's trailer, but I got no answer at either place. I called my brother's house to see if he'd been released from whatever spell he was under, but got no answer there either. I thought back to the night before, and tried to do a mental inventory of all the people I had seen at my house. I remembered seeing Tara, Terry, Eggs, Jane (and her severed finger), Mike, Sheriff Dearborn, and Arlene. Arlene! Oh my! If she was there, who was looking after her kids?

I called Arlene's house, praying that Lisa would answer the phone, but the machine clicked on. "Lisa, this is Sookie. If you're there, please pick up the phone." I pleaded, and waited for a second. "Lisa! Coby! Lisa, honey, please pick up!" I shouted into the phone. I was just about to hang up when a timid voice answered.

"Sookie?" She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

"Yes, honey, it's Sookie. Is your Mama home?"

"No. We ain't seen her in two days." She was officially crying, and it just about broke my heart.

"Alright. Where's your brother?"

"Coby's watching cartoons." She sniffled.

"You got the door locked?"

"Yeah. There's all kinds of crazy people running around. Their eyes are all black and scary." Lisa relayed to me.

"They aren't trying to get at you, are they?"

"No." She sniffled again.

"Alright, well you stay put, and I'll be there as quick as I can." I promised her.

"Aunt Sookie can you bring us something to eat?"

"Of course." My heart sank. Those poor babies being there all alone for days like that. "I'm on my way. You don't open the door for anyone but me, understand?"

"Yes ma'am." She said respectfully.

"I'll be there soon." I promised, and hung up the phone.

I ran to the kitchen to retrieve Pop Tarts for the kids. I knew it wasn't the healthiest thing to feed them, but it would tide them over until I could get them back to the house for a proper meal. I pulled on a pair of sneakers, since I couldn't very well run in high heels if I had to. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail the way I almost always did, and then I did a quick search of the house, hoping for a trace of Eric somewhere. I found a note stuck to the refrigerator, of all places.

_Sookie,_

_I will return to you at sundown. I am not far away, and I will know it if you need me sooner._

_Don't do anything stupid._

_Eric_

I read the note a few times, studying his handwriting. It seemed more primitive, whereas Bill's had a bit more of a flourish to it. I suppose that spoke to the times in which their human lives had begun. I wondered how difficult it had been for Eric to learn English, since it wasn't his first language. In fact, I wondered just how many languages Eric had learned to speak in his thousand years on this planet. I knew he spoke Swedish, and I assumed he probably spoke French as well, though I'd never heard him use it. I knew he'd spent some time in England, because that was where Pam was from originally, but I assumed he'd traveled all over Europe. Godric had been created in Ancient Rome, and I was willing to bet he'd taught Eric his native language as well. It dawned on me then that no one would ever be able to put one over on Eric without the assistance of mystical forces. He'd lived a lot of life, and he'd absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

I folded the note and put it in my pocket. For some reason, it just made me feel a bit stronger knowing I had a piece of him with me, even if it was only his words. I found my car keys where I'd left them when I'd driven over to Bill's house before leaving for Dallas. Lucky for me, I also had a spare key to my brother's house on that ring, and I got the brilliant idea to run by there and take all of his shotguns. My brother wasn't an avid hunter. The guns had belonged to my father, and my Grandfather before that. I just didn't like the idea of my brother being able to pop into his house to pick up extra weapons if he saw fit to do such a thing in the condition he was in.

First things first, I had to go get Lisa and Coby out of Arlene's house. Lisa was a pretty good girl, and she did her best to step into her Mama's shoes when Arlene was at work, but that was just a few hours. No good would come from those kids being left alone for so long, and I felt horrible for forgetting about them. I should have been looking after those kids, and instead, I'd been having sex with Eric and enjoying a bubble bath. When all of this was over I was going to have to take a long look at my priorities in life. I slipped out of the house, and ran to my car. I kept my mind open, searching for other brains that might be in the area. Thankfully, it was blissfully quiet. I didn't even hear noise coming from my own house, but I wasn't so sure that was a good thing.

I sped through town, not even bothering to stop at the stop signs. If Bud Dearborn was under whatever spell Maryann had cast over the town, then I was pretty sure Andy Bellefleur was under it too. I pulled up to Arlene's house in record time. The only brains I could hear were Coby's and Lisa's, and I said a silent prayer of gratitude for it. I knocked on the door, and I heard a tiny voice ask who it was.

"Lisa, honey, it's Sookie. You can open the door now." I told her.

"How do I know you're Aunt Sookie?" She asked. Smart girl.

"I'm gonna step over to the window so you can see, okay?" I said, and stepped over to my right. I looked into the window, and Coby jumped up.

"It's Aunt Sookie!" He knocked his sister out of his way, and pulled the door open. I barely had time to get back to the door before I was being knocked over by two kids who were as eager to see an adult as they'd ever been in their lives.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you." I hugged both of them, and kissed their cheeks.

"What happened to Mama?" Coby asked me.

"I don't know, baby, but Aunt Sookie's gonna fix it." I promised him.

"Where's Vampire Bill?" Lisa asked, craning her neck, hoping to get a glimpse of him in my car.

"He's in New Orleans. He went to get us some help." I told her.

"What if he doesn't come back? Rene is still on his vacation to Jesus." Coby pointed out.

"Bill will be back." I insisted as kindly as I could.

I thought it was ridiculous that Arlene hadn't told her children the truth about Rene, at least in terms of his death. These poor kids were waiting on him to come back, but that wasn't ever gonna happen. I think there's a part of Arlene that was still reluctant to admit that she could have been so blind to her fiance's hatred. But it wasn't just her he'd fooled. He'd fooled the whole town into believing he was an honest, hardworking and trustworthy man. He may have been hardworking, but the rest of it was all lies. Hell, his name wasn't even really Rene.

"Get your shoes on. We have to get going." I told the kids, and walked into the house behind them.

All things considered, the place wasn't much messier than usual. I think Lisa was afraid that if Arlene came home and found the place a total disaster she'd really be in for it. I couldn't blame her. How scary would it be to have your Mama running around town with these wild eyes and not know who you were? I wondered if Arlene had been home at all to check on her kids, but I was guessing she probably hadn't. I helped Coby get his shoes tied, and I had the kids pack a bag so they'd have extra clothes since I didn't know how long it was going to take to run Maryann out of town. Coby had turned off the television, but I turned it back on.

"Aunt Sookie shouldn't we turn that off?" Lisa asked when I was herding the kids toward the door.

"No. If someone comes by, I want them to think you kids are still here. I don't want them to know you've been picked up."

"Why?" Coby asked.

"Do you trust your Aunt Sookie?" I knelt down in front of them, and they both nodded. "I promise you that I am going to keep you safe, and that I'm going to get your Mama back. Right now I need you to do what I tell you to, and I will do my best to explain everything. We got a deal?" I held out a pinky finger to each of them.

"Deal." They said in unison and linked their pinkies with mine.

"Alright, then lets get going." I smiled at them, and ushered them out of the house.

Since I didn't have a key, I couldn't lock the door behind us, but I figured with all of the windows that had already been busted out in the neighborhood locked doors weren't really much of an issue for the people who really wanted to get into someone's house. I got the kids buckled into the backseat of my car, and headed off for Jason's place. I could only imagine what it would look like if I did happen to get pulled over once I had all those guns in the car. Jason's truck was parked where it always was, and his front door was locked up tight. I was guessing he hadn't been home.

"Alright, I have to go inside and get a few things from Jason's house. If you see anyone coming, I want you to honk the horn like there's no tomorrow, okay?" I turned in my seat.

They nodded, but then both pairs of eyes went wide. "Aunt Sookie?" Lisa's lower lip trembled, and she pointed straight ahead.

Both kids started to scream as the driver's side door was opened, and I was pulled from the car.

* * *

Ha! Another cliffhanger *sticks out tongue* Aren't you glad **Modiggy** threatened me into posting again?

In other news, that contest I referred to earlier is quickly taking shape. The lovely **VickieL** and **TammyDevil666** will be running the show with me. Once we get the details ironed out, I'll be announcing that mother like crazy. Until then, I'm searching for judges. Anyone interested should send me a PM. And anyone with the slightest clue as to how to run one of these contests that would be willing to PM with info would be even better, since the three of us have never run one before.

Oh, and one last thing... I've activated my widely UNUSED twitter account. I'm convinced twitter is evil, but for the sake of this contest, I'm going to go there. So if you have something to say that just can't wait, look for **sarcasticheart**.

Until tomorrow, baby birds...


	6. Down In It

In my defense, I did warn you before the start of the first chapter that this was the story that got me the title of "Cliffhanger Queen" Y'all really shouldn't be surprised to see more and more of them as the story continues. I'm an evil tease *runs away laughing*

* * *

Chapter Six: Down In It

If it weren't for Eric's blood in my system, I wouldn't have been able to fight off the attack I hadn't seen coming. I'd put my guards back up because I couldn't bear to hear the anxiety running through Coby and Lisa's heads. Most children are very clear broadcasters, and being that they were Arlene's children, Coby and Lisa were particularly loud with their thoughts. I hadn't heard the other brain approaching me, and already, I was feeling like a failure for letting something get at me before I could even get Coby and Lisa back to a safe place. I was dragged from the car by a pair of strong hands, and I was flung across the gravel. I bounced off of Jason's truck and hit the ground with a loud thud. Coby and Lisa were screaming in the backseat of my car. I sat up slowly and rubbed my head. The sunshine was blinding, and it took me a minute to realize who it was that had attacked me.

"You shouldn't be here, hookah." Layfayette cooed at me in a sinister sort of way, and I scrambled to my feet.

"Lafayette, I don't want to have to hurt you." I tried to keep my voice from faltering.

"Hurt me? Please." He chuckled at the very notion of it. "He comes tonight, Sook, and we're all gonna have a real good time. A little birdy whispered in my ear that you tryin' to break up the party."

"Lafayette, whatever Maryann has told you is a lie." I argued with him, and reached into the flatbed of Jason's truck. He kept most of his tools back there, and I knew I'd be able to find something to use as a weapon.

"Whatchu lookin' for, baby girl?" He smiled broadly at me, and I realized the flatbed was empty. Oh shit. "We's gonna get back in that car, and we's gonna take a ride by Maryann's crib. You gotta be there when He comes."

"No, Lafayette, I won't be there, and if you're smart, you'll get out of here too." I warned him.

"I can't do that, hookah, and neither can you." Lafayette lunged at me, but I took off running.

Lafayette was fast, but Eric's blood in my system made me a little faster, and I was able to run into the house before he could catch up with me. I threw the deadbolt on the door, and I went straight to the gun cabinet. The key was in the door as it always was, and I was amazed to see that while the tools had been taken from Jason's truck, the guns were right where they belonged. I pulled one of them from the rack, and began to load it. Like many of the girls I'd grown up with, I'd learned to fire a gun before I learned how to drive. I wasn't a particularly good shot, and I didn't enjoy hunting in any capacity, but I didn't see how I had any other choice. I found a gym bag at the back of Jason's closet, and I loaded the other guns into it along with all of the ammunition I could find. I locked the cabinet, and moved to the front of the house.

I scanned for Lafayette's brain. I knew he was out there somewhere, but all I was getting was a humming noise. There was nothing in there. It was even bleaker than trying to read a shifter's brain. Still, I was able to detect where he was in proximity to the house, and that was really all I'd need. My ability told me that he was in the bushes to the right of the house, closest to my car. There would be no graceful way for me to sneak out to the car. I would have to take my chances, and make a run for it. I flipped the deadbolt, and threw the door open wide. I ran with the loaded shotgun in my hand, and the heavy gym bag thrown over my shoulder. I knew I really only had one chance to get in the car and go.

Coby and Lisa were still panicking in the backseat, and they started screaming again when Lafayette lunged from the bushes. I threw up my breaks, and skittered in the gravel. Lafayette landed on his stomach like he was sliding into home plate, and I took the opportunity to run to the driver's side of the car. Coby reached forward and unlocked my door for me. I threw the bag into the front seat, and managed to get myself inside just as Lafayette was getting to my door. Quick moving Cody pushed the little knob down on the lock, and Lafayette started kicking my door and slamming his fists on the roof. Poor Lisa was about to have a breakdown behind me, she was so terrified. I didn't want to fire a gun with two children right behind me, but I was afraid I wasn't going to have much choice.

I got the car started, much to my relief, but Lafayette jumped on the hood. Oh my. I threw the car in reverse, and hit the gas as hard as I could. My tires spun in the gravel for a second before thrusting backward. I was so busy watching Lafayette that I didn't see someone behind the car until he or she was _under_ the car. I turned the steering wheel to the right as I backed out of the driveway, and I realized I had run over Andy Bellefleur. Oh my.

"Auntie Sookie you just hit Detective Andy!" Coby shouted.

"I didn't mean to." I apologized, but really, I just wished the two of them would sit back and keep their mouths shut. _I'm gonna kill Arlene when this is over_, I thought to myself. She took too many chances with her children's safety for my liking. I know she loves her kids, but sometimes I think she loves a good time a little bit more.

Lafayette managed to hang on all the way to Half Shell Road. I had a sharp left turn to make there in order to get on the highway that would take me back to Bill's house, and I didn't let up on the gas as much as I normally would to make the turn. The inertia (thank you word of the day calendar) of the turn sent Lafayette flying like a frisbee through the air. He landed with a loud thud on Donetta Clarke's Kentucky Bluegrass. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew that Lafayette was going to be the least of my troubles.

We drove the rest of the way back to Bill's in silence. I blocked out the kids' brains once again because I just couldn't think with them thinking at me too. I had to come up with some sort of plan. It would have helped if I knew where Eric was resting, and how soon after dark he would be back in Bon Temps. I pulled up to Bill's with my brain all fuzzy, and I realized I was just as hungry as the kids were. I got out of the car first, and did a quick scan for brains with the shotgun ready to fire at a moment's notice. It was all clear.

"Come on, let's go." I told the kids, waving them out of the backseat, keeping my shotgun raised and ready for use.

A dog barked to my left, and I jerked my shotgun that way. A collie stepped from the bushes, and I lowered the gun. I'd know that dog anywhere. For the first time all day, I smiled.

* * *

I sent the kids upstairs to get cleaned up while I made us all something to eat. Bill's clothes were a little big on Sam, but I couldn't very well have him walking around the house naked. I couldn't imagine the reactions I'd get from Eric or Bill to see such a thing, nevermind the damage it would do to the kids. Again, it wasn't the healthiest of meals to make the kids, but I had limited options in Bill's freezer, since everything in there had to be heated by microwave. He had a stove, but it was the stove that had been in the house when he was alive, and was a wood burning stove. No way was I about to start a fire in his house with all that was happening outside it. The less danger I could invite into the one safe place I had left the better.

"I'm sorry I took off on you last night, Sookie." Sam apologized to me.

"I'm just thankful you're okay." I told him once he was back in the kitchen with clothes on. "Did you see who came into the bar last night?"

"It was too dark. I heard you scream, and I just shifted right in front of Eric. He's okay, isn't he?" He was trying to sound concerned for Eric, but I knew he didn't really care one way or the other.

"Eric's fine. He's resting." I told Sam, and poked holes in the plastic film covering the frozen dinners on the counter. "So you didn't see anything then?"

"No. I wish I had. I figured you were already in trouble, and there was nothing I could do, and it was better for me to get out of there so someone would be able to go for help." Sam explained.

I wondered then if Sam had come here, and that was why Pam had been called to Bon Temps. Of course, if she sensed Eric was in danger, she would have come anyway out of her loyalty to him. I put the dinners in the microwave, and then washed my hands. I could hear little footsteps upstairs, and the sound of the kids bickering. Being around Coby and Lisa was a reminder of the things I would never have if I stayed in a relationship with a vampire. Truthfully, I'd never really thought about having kids of my own. Just the prospect of dating a human wasn't something that inspired hope for me, and I wondered how I would ever find a man that I could love enough to marry, let alone have a child with. It's not easy knowing a person's every thought. My brain was working overtime to keep Sam out of my head. For a shifter, he came in pretty clear, but then he'd given me full access to his brain anytime I wanted it.

"So what happened after I left? You seem fine." He looked a little closer at me.

"I woke up in the walk-in. I had a pretty big bump on the back of my head. I found Eric strapped to the pool table with silver, but I got it off of him in time. A few minutes later Pam showed up-"

"Oh great." Sam shook his head.

"Don't be like that, Sam. Eric doesn't have to lift a finger to help a single one of us. I know he didn't make the best first impression, but I think that's just the way Eric is. He's really not so bad once you get to know him." I explained.

"Once you get to know him?" Sam shook his head in disbelief. "You're talking like you've been glamoured."

"I haven't."

"And how do you know?"

"Because vampires can't glamour me, remember? Because of my ability, they can't get in my head like that, just like I can't get in theirs. We cancel each other out. Besides, if Eric _could_ glamour me, do you really think he'd leave me here in _Bill's_ house?" I pointed out.

Fortunately, the kids came downstairs and forced us to change the subject. I sat down at the table with them while they ate. Sam went out back to do a perimeter check, although I'm not sure what he meant by that. He did, however, take the loaded shotgun out with him. A van arrived from Anubis to pick up the travel coffin, and I cursed myself for not having called them earlier. I explained there was a possibility there was still a vampire resting in it, and it couldn't be returned. The driver didn't look at all happy with me.

"Mr. Compton arranged for pick up today. We need that coffin back." The driver said in a monotone voice.

"I understand that, but what am I supposed to do? I have two kids inside the house, and I can't have a sick vampire running around trying to find a place to rest if you take that coffin. Besides, do you really think it's wise to wake a resting vampire?" I put my hands on my hips, trying to look as tough as I could.

The driver rolled his eyes. "There will be a late charge for this." He grumbled.

"Don't worry, it'll get paid. Do I need to sign something?" I asked. He handed over the clipboard in his hands, and I noted a new pick up time for the following day.

"Make sure the coffin is ready." The driver glared at me before getting back in his van.

"You have a nice day too." I mumbled as he drove away.

I'd never been in a room with Eric when he first rose, so I had no idea what he was like. It was different for all vampires, just as it was for all humans. Some adjust easily, and just go about a normal routine. Some are a bit more wild, and it takes them a minute to get comfortable in their skin. Bill told me that for him, it was like getting this jolt of electricity once the sun had set, and his eyes just popped open. He would get out of his hidey-hole, and start his day like anyone else. If he knew I was around the house, he would come looking for me. When we were in Dallas, and I'd be laying right there next to him when his eyes opened, it would be like someone had pushed a play button on a VCR. He would pick up our conversation right where we'd left off as if he'd only been gone a minute. But I didn't know if it would be that smooth for Eric.

I sent the kids upstairs with Sam just before sundown to play hide and seek, since I didn't want them to be right there in front of a hungry vampire. I didn't have much of a chance of fighting Eric off, but I could handle him better than two children could, and I didn't need Sam antagonizing him. I sat at the foot of the steps where I could see the travel coffin from Anubis, and still be close to the hidey-hole door at the same time. The hidey-hole door opened a few minutes before the sun set, and I immediately wondered how Bill was going to take it that Eric had slept in his resting place. I had a feeling it wasn't going to go over well.

Eric spotted me sitting on the steps, and without a word, he came over and sat down next to me. I didn't really know what to say to him. Then he heard the kids running around upstairs, and he looked over at me pointedly. Eric was pissed. "What did you do?" He demanded.

"I called Arlene's house, and the kids were there alone. I couldn't leave them there." I told him.

"You brought tiny humans here?" Eric had this strange look on his face. I couldn't tell if he was nauseated or hungry. Oh my.

"Yes, I did, and you are not to treat them like appetizers." I said in a tone of warning.

"How many?"

"Two. And that does _not_ mean that one is a spare, either." I said in the same harsh tone, but there was a scheming sort of look on Eric's face. "You don't actually eat children, do you?"

Eric seemed to snap out of it some when he heard the disgust in my voice. For a second he looked almost ashamed of himself, and then he said, "I have, but I don't make a practice of it. The last one I had was on a steamship from Ireland a few centuries back."

I felt my stomach flip-flop, and I got up off the stairs. There were just some things about vampires I would never get used to, no matter how hard I tried to rationalize it. Eric followed me to the kitchen. I put a bottle of TrueBlood into the microwave for him. He stood right behind me, and I could tell he wasn't really feeling the synthetic blood option, but I wasn't going to offer myself up again. He'd already gotten plenty out of me in the last few days, and if I wasn't careful, we were going to have some real problems on our hands. Not to mention, there were kids just a few feet above our heads. There was no way I was going to let him feed on me, knowing that he would have a hard time controlling himself afterward. Sex and blood were too intertwined, and that was especially true for a vampire as old as Eric.

He pushed my hair to the side, and was starting to move toward my neck, just under my ear, when the microwave buzzed. I paused just for a second when I felt his lips on my neck, but then I heard those little feet upstairs, and I yanked myself back to reality. I opened the microwave, and retrieved the bottle of blood for him. Eric was doing some of his best work on my neck and shoulders, and for a second time I faltered for just a second before shrugging him off of me. I turned and handed him the blood.

"Here." I thrust the bottle toward him.

"But I-"

"But nothing. There are kids upstairs, Eric." I said in a shouting whisper. I figured it was best to mention that Sam was here as well after Eric had already fed, or Bon Temps would be down a shifter.

"I can be quick."

"Gee, that sounds like tons of fun, but I'm going to pass." I thrust the bottle at him again.

I'd never seen him pout before that moment. I had expected rage, and some stern reminder that he could very easily carry me out of the house and have his way with me before I could even fully protest. Instead, he took the blood, and stomped out the front door. I stood there shaking my head and marveling at the entire exchange. He was still nursing his bottle of blood ten minutes later when Pam arrived. My guess was that she had been summoned by Eric, although I didn't know how. I hadn't seen him make a call. Maybe they have sonar like dolphins, or something?

My hearing was only slightly enhanced thanks to Eric's blood, and I could hear them arguing in Swedish as they always seemed to do when they had serious business to discuss. So whatever it was they were talking about, they didn't want me to know all the details of. They just wanted me to be able to pick their emotions, and then they would tell me what they deemed to be necessary information. Sam started down the steps, and sat down next to me.

"What are they fighting about?" Sam nodded toward the porch.

"Beats me." I sighed, and Sam pulled me closer to him so my head was resting on his shoulder. "Sam, I can't keep on sitting here like this."

"What else are we supposed to do, Sookie? We don't know how to defeat her, and who's to say that we won't make her stronger by getting involved?" He pointed out.

I groaned with frustration, and pulled away from Sam. "I watched Jane Bodehouse sever her finger last night, Sam. Whatever it is that Maryann is doing, it's not going to stop with us just sitting here. We have to do something." I insisted.

"You sure it was smart bringing them into this?" He pointed to the porch.

"You got any other ideas?" I snapped at him. "Besides, at least they're doing something."

Sam looked a little wounded by my outburst. "What happened to you, Sookie? Ever since you got mixed up with the vamps, you've been a different person. You were always a mix of sweet and sassy, and I liked that about you. But before they came along you were sweeter. I miss that." Sam said, and then went back upstairs to play with the kids, leaving me to think about the choices I'd made recently.

Thankfully, Eric came in to break up that train of thought. "We have heard from Bill." His face was expressionless, which wasn't anything new, but his lack of enthusiasm was especially tough to take at the moment.

"And?"

"And we're going to need a shifter if this is going to work." Eric admitted.

"Then lucky for you, we just happen to have one upstairs." I snickered, and shook my head. _Can today get any better?_, I asked myself in a bitter fashion.

From what Eric had learned from Bill, I was able to learn that Maryann was looking for a sacrifice to summon the God Dionysus, whom she believed to be her soul mate. She needed someone who was two natured so that Dionysus could take on a human form, but still retain all of his God-like attributes. She had been looking for the perfect vessel, which explained all of the murders. I thought back to when she'd first arrived in town, and the reaction Sam had to her presence. Sam wasn't the sort to fluster easily, but Maryann had definitely ruffled his feathers, so to speak. I knew he wasn't happy about her being in town, but I'd never thought to ask why that was. Now I definitely wanted to know. But I knew he'd never tell me the whole story with Eric and Pam around, and I certainly couldn't leave Coby and Lisa with Pam and Eric while Sam and I went for a little walk to talk things over.

What a mess this whole thing was. The music had started again over at my house. I could hear it echoing in all the empty space, and I was afraid for my old house. "What do you mean we have a shifter here? One of the tiny humans shifts?" Eric's face lit up.

"Tiny humans?" Pam looked confused.

"Children." I said, and watched with disgust as Pam's face lit up the same way Eric's did.

"Barnen har de vidrigaste lukten, men de har den godaste smaken." _Children have the foulest odor, but they have the most delicious taste._ Pam said in a dreamy tone.

"Vi kan inte livnär sig på dessa barn." _We cannot feed on these children._ Eric answered, but continued to look at me.

"Varför i helvete inte?" _Why the fuck not?_ Pam's head whipped to the right to glare at Eric.

"Because I said so." Eric answered her gruffly. "The shifter upstairs, it wouldn't be Sam, would it?"

"It would."

"He is a coward. He shifted and disappeared last night when you were attacked. How can we trust him?" Eric looked hard at me.

"Never trust a shifter. The two natured are nothing but trouble." Pam was actually filing her nails. I'm not kidding.

"Funny, they think the same thing about vamps." I said a little too smugly. "But now isn't the time for a supernatural pissing contest. We all have to work together if we're going to get Maryann's crazy ass out of town."

"Oh we're not going to get her out of town." Eric said with a smile, and looked to Pam as if to cue her.

"We're going to kill her." Pam was actually bored with this whole thing.

"What do I have to do?" Sam appeared on the landing upstairs.

"Well, the plan actually starts with Sookie." Eric looked to me.

"Me?"

"You're going to be bait." Now Pam was smiling.

"Bait?" My jaw dropped.

"No way!" Sam shook his head, and started down the stairs two at a time.

"Shifter, this really isn't your decision." Eric said in an arrogant tone.

"If you think for one second that I'm going to let you put Sookie in danger, you're out of your bloodsucking mind!" Sam put his arm around me.

"Sam, would you just let him finish?" I shrugged Sam's arm off of me, and Pam was loving it. There was clearly a small battle going on for my affection, at least in her eyes, and I knew she was hoping that Eric would lose all sense of self-control, and tear Sam to shreds.

"Sookie is going to be the bait, but don't worry, Sam. _You_ are going to be the sacrifice." Eric's smile didn't fade, nor did Pam's.

"It must be two for one day on humans." Pam chuckled at her own joke.

"Does Bill know this?" Sam asked in aggravation, and it surprised me that he was taking Bill's side in all of this.

"Of course. Who do you think came up with this plan?" Eric shrugged in a nonchalant sort of way, but you could have knocked me over with a feather.

_Bill_ wants to use me as bait? Oh this can't possibly end well.

* * *

**Don't worry, I'll be posting again tonight. I just need to finish up the next chapter of Hot For Teacher since I wasn't able to do so last night. There's big fun in the works and it took up most of my evening last night. Be on the look out for an announcement from me come Monday. Thanks for reading!**


	7. From A Whisper To A Scream

Since I have the patience of a 4 year old on Christmas morning I decided to just go ahead and make the announcement today. Along with **VickieL** and **TammyDevil666** I will be hosting the 7 Deadly Sins fic contest. For more deets go to:

**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2426932/7DeadlySinsContest**

I'm super excited about this. It's my first contest, so be kind. Newbies are welcome and the more sinful the better. If you have any questions feel free to PM any of the mods or email 7deadlysinscontest(at)gmail(dot)com. I can also be tweeted under the name **makesmyheadspin**. Happy writing!

* * *

Chapter Seven: From A Whisper To A Scream

The plan was to use me as bait because they would need me on the inside of this whole thing. I would be able to read all of the minds there, well, except for the vamp ones. But Sam could communicate with me silently, and no one would be any wiser for it. In addition to a human sacrifice, she would also be making an offering in the form of new life. Maryann was thousands of years old, and not capable of bearing a child, but Dionysus wouldn't require that. It was assumed she would bring forth an egg of some kind to offer up instead. If we could somehow stop her from sacrificing Sam _and_ smash the egg, we would have a chance at weakening Maryann. The kicker to all of this is that she had created all of this chaos for a God that was never going to come. It was all for nothing. Ain't that a kick in the head?

Sam was a little too okay with being Maryann's sacrifice, and it really got me wondering just what the hell he knew about Maryann that I didn't. Thankfully, Eric and Pam decided to go do a little reconnaissance work over at my house. As soon as they were gone, I called the kids down from the second floor. They seemed concerned, and I'm sure they overheard parts of the conversation we'd been having.

"Aunt Sookie, are you going to kill that lady who made Mama go crazy?" Coby asked me.

I looked to Sam, who's lips were firmly pressed together. "Not if we don't have to, honey." I ruffled his hair. "How about some ice cream?"

"Yeah!" The kids chorused, and I followed them to the kitchen to make them ice cream sundaes.

Once the kids were occupied with their ice cream, I pulled Sam back into the living room. "Alright, I want to know what you know about Maryann." I glared at him. He opened his mouth to say something and I said, "I can read your mind, Sam, so don't bother lying to me."

Sam looked hopelessly trapped, and I could tell he hadn't wanted to tell me about his history with Maryann. But I listened to his story, and I sort of felt bad for him. For as nice a guy as Sam is, he guards his past pretty closely. He spared me as much detail as possible when it came to the intimate things, but he did tell me how Maryann had shimmered and shook the way I'd seen the night before out on my lawn while they were in bed together. It had freaked him out, and he'd just wanted to get the hell out of her house after that. He thought he was the freak, but meeting Maryann had forced him to realize he wasn't the only person out in the world with a strange ability. I was starting to connect the lines then, and I realized that part of the reason he had taken to me was because I had an ability that no one else seemed to understand. People thought I was crazy or weird, and I knew he was afraid they'd see him the same way if the truth about him being a shape shifter came out.

"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" I asked Sam.

"Because it wasn't any of your business, Sookie. I wasn't proud of it. I was young, and I was scared, and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I'm used to keeping my secrets, you know?" Sam was looking for a little understanding. "I know I was wrong, and I tried to make it right. I thought that if I gave Maryann what she wanted when she came back here, that she would just go away-"

"But she didn't want your money, did she?" I was impressed to find out that Sam had that kind of cash laying around. I knew the bar did well, but I hadn't realized it was _that_ well.

"No, she didn't." He shook his head.

"Look, Sam, for what it's worth, I don't think she came here because of you." I told him.

"Oh no? Then why do Eric and Pam think that she's looking for a shifter?" Sam asked me.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Maybe you're the one she wants now, but look how many other people she's had to kill to figure out that_you're_ the one she's been looking for."

Sam sighed in frustration. He was feeling guilty. He was blaming himself for Daphne's death. I walked across the room and hugged him. I didn't know what else to do. The front door opened, and Eric came strolling in like he lived here. He shot me a dirty look, and I broke up the hug. I was afraid he was going to go back on his word, and go after Coby and Lisa. I didn't want to believe he was capable of doing something like that, but now wasn't really the time to test him on it either. Besides, Sam was starting to think the hug meant something other than it was, and I didn't want to encourage that. I had two vampires fighting for me. I really didn't want to throw my boss into the mix.

"I'll go check on the kids." Sam offered, and then shot a hard look at Eric before going to the kitchen to check on Coby and Lisa.

"You and the Shifter seem awfully cozy." Eric wasn't happy.

"He's just a friend, Eric." I shook my head and turned the other way.

"He has feelings for you."

"So? That doesn't mean I've returned them."

"What about me?" Eric asked.

"What about you?" I turned back. "You don't have feelings, remember? Feelings are for humans, and you aren't a human."

Sam's words popped in to my head about me being more sassy than sweet, and at the moment, I just wanted to scream. I had so much weight on my shoulders. I didn't want to be caught up in all of this... drama. I just wanted to get rid of Maryann and get my life together. I didn't want to be stuck between two vampires, and I didn't want to constantly be defending my choices to someone. I just wanted everything to be simple again.

I didn't like the idea of leaving the kids alone in Bill's house, but I couldn't very well take them along with us, nor could I leave them with a vampire babysitter. Pam was a little too eager for the job (in spite of the fact that she kept saying how much she hated children), and I would need all the backup I could get. Bill arrived shortly after ten, which was impressive. He must have driven awfully fast to get back to Bon Temps so quickly after sundown. But I was beyond relieved to see him. Eric heard his car pulling up to the house before I did, and when I saw the disappointment on his face, I knew it had to be Bill coming. I ran out the front door and I jumped on him. I missed him, as crazy as that might sound.

"I'm happy you're here." I hugged him tightly, but there was something different about him. He seemed suspicious of me, and eager to put me down. He didn't kiss me, or make a move like he wanted to. Something was definitely wrong.

"So am I." He tried to smile.

"So, it looks like I'm going to be bait tonight, huh?" I wrapped my hand around his.

"Sookie, I am sorry. If there were any other way-"

"Bill, it's okay. I'm ready." I nodded with a big smile. "I've been sitting around here for most of the day, and you know how I can't sit still when things aren't right."

"I know." He nodded, but he wasn't amused by my eagerness to get the show on the road. "Eric tells me you have Lisa and Coby inside?"

"It's a long story, but yes."

"You went after them, didn't you?"

"Bill, I had to. They're just babies, and I couldn't leave them all alone." I argued.

"Of course not." His expression softened. "I am just happy you are safe. Relatively speaking."

We walked toward the house, but he let go of my hand when he saw Eric emerge from inside. I went inside to go talk to the kids and explain what was going to happen, and why we had to leave them alone in the house since I was the only adult present that they trusted to tell them the absolute truth. Sam, Eric, Bill and Pam went over the game plan on the front porch. Eric was going to fly me over to the house and drop me off there, which Bill wasn't happy about. He didn't like that Eric was being so authoritative all of a sudden, and trying to insert himself into my life in such a big way. I think what bothered Bill more was my lack of argument over the whole thing. He kept waiting for me to pipe up and argue with Eric the way I always had in the past, but I just didn't have the fight to spare for it. I needed to save all of that for the much bigger fight we were all about to go into.

Before I left with Eric, I pulled Bill off to the side. "Are you alright, Bill?"

"I've had a lot of time to think with all the driving I've done, and I'm worried for your safety." He told me.

"I'm going to be okay. You're going to be there to protect me, right?" I touched his cheek gently, and smiled at him. "It's going to be okay, Bill. I know it."

I leaned in and kissed him in hopes of reassuring him that things were going to be okay, but it didn't feel the same. Just a week before my heart would flutter when he'd kiss me. The thought of spending time with him made me feel like I was floating. And now...now I almost felt like he was a stranger to me. Was it because of Eric, or just because it was time for this to end? I didn't know, and that moment wasn't really the right time to fill in the cracks in my relationship.

"When this is all over with, I want to take you away somewhere." Bill told me.

"Okay." I nodded, still stroking his cool smooth cheek. "That sounds nice." Finally, he smiled, and I felt a little bit better. "I love you, Bill. I really did miss you." That much was actually true.

"I love you too, Sookie." He whispered in my ear when he hugged me tightly, and when he kissed me again, I felt a flicker of that passion I'd felt for him the very first time he kissed me.

Eric cleared his throat and glared at the two of us. "It is time to go, Sookie." Eric practically growled at me.

I smiled at Bill one more time, and then I went to Eric. He barely grabbed me before taking off. I wrapped myself around his waist because I was afraid of falling. "What the hell is your problem?" I shouted at him once we were floating over the cemetery.

"You are wasting precious time with your...boyfriend." He said with disgust. "I did not come here to watch you two fix your relationship."

My jaw dropped. "_Fix my relationship_? Eric, the only reason my relationship is in trouble is because of you! If you never would have tricked me into drinking your blood, I wouldn't be having any problems whatsoever in my relationship right now!" I wanted to hit him, but I didn't want him to drop me, and I knew that if I pushed him the right way that was exactly what he would do.

He landed in the woods behind my house a little farther back than he needed to. "I may have tricked you into drinking my blood, but the rest of it you did on your own. I did not force you to have sex with me, Sookie. You did that on your own accord. And if it was so detrimental to your relationship, why did you come back for more? Not just once, but _three_ times. Maybe I can do something for you that Bill can't." Eric said with a lusty smugness in his eyes that drove me absolutely crazy.

Before I could stop myself, I slapped him. I was stressed to my breaking point, and it was getting the better of me. His fangs ran out and before I knew what was happening, his hand was around my throat. He wasn't choking me, but if he decided to squeeze, I was in big trouble. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I was just a giant jumble of nerves. Then there was that damn vampire blood getting in the way of everything, and I knew exactly what he wanted from me. There were no kids around anymore to break up the fun, as far as he was concerned, so now was as good a time as any to take advantage of it.

His lips crushed against mine, his fangs nicking them slightly, and I could taste the blood. There would be no stopping him this time, and he was definitely not in the mood to play nice. Quite frankly, neither was I. I found myself backed up against a large tree with his hand down the front of my jeans, his fingers moving expertly inside them. When she'd come, Pam had brought Eric a change of clothes, and he was now wearing blue jeans and a tight black tank top, which I gathered was his preferred "uniform" when he wasn't working at Fangtasia. I was clawing at the front of that tank top like there was no tomorrow as I squirmed against that tree. Why was it the more he pissed me off, the more I wanted him?

His body leaned into mine, although I was slightly slouched against the tree so that just my head and shoulders were touching it. I bit his chest when his fingers found the exact right spot, and he growled a little louder than he probably should have. I fumbled with his pants, my fingers not at all cooperating with me, while he got my jeans open in record time. He yanked them down just far enough and then turned me around so I was facing the tree, and bent ever so slightly. This was the second time I'd had sex outdoors and both times it was with a vampire. He entered me hard from behind with both of his hands curled on my shoulders.

What was it about being outside that seemed to make me a little wilder than I was indoors? My palms were pressed against the trunk of the tree, and I could feel tiny scratches and cuts being made as Eric thrust into me, but I didn't tell him to stop. At the moment, I was feeling way too good for that. I was surprised when I felt breath on the back of my neck. I didn't feel that very often from a vampire, but I knew they could do it when they wanted to. He thrust into me one last time, and the orgasm it caused forced me to bite his hand to keep from crying out too loud. He growled again, but he was finished. I stood there, bent against the tree with my hands still pressed into the bark, just trying to catch my breath. When I could finally breathe, I peeled my hands away from the tree to see that they were a slightly bloody mess.

Eric was immediately cleaning the blood from my hands, not caring that he was taking pieces of tree bark and dirt along with it. My wounds healed quickly because of his blood, and then I got my jeans back on. Eric picked up my hands again, and looked at them closely. He kissed each palm and then my forehead.

"Be strong, my lover." He whispered, and then he was gone.

* * *

I was slightly baffled by Eric's parting comment, but I had a job to do. I walked through the backyard up to the service porch. My house was still just as trashed as it had been the day before, and my heart sank. I don't know why I'd hoped that by some miracle, it would all be put back together the way it was the day I left for Dallas. Jane Bodehouse was in the kitchen, and she was as naked as the day she was born. As if that weren't bad enough, so was Mike. My stomach churned, and I hoped they wouldn't try to recruit me to join them in whatever it was they were doing. I slipped past them as quietly as I could, and headed toward the dining room.

The dining room wasn't in much better condition than the kitchen. I was relieved, however, to see that my Gran's china hutch hadn't been smashed to bits. There were dishes in there older than the house, not to mention a silver tea service that was worth more than my car. I couldn't even begin to process all of the damage Maryann had done to my home, and I had no idea how I was going to pay for it all to get fixed. I guess this is what homeowner's insurance is for, but how do I classify a claim like this, exactly? It's not like they have a box to check for supernatural disasters.

"Well, well, look who's here." Lafayette snuck up behind me, and grabbed me by my throat.

"Lafayette, I'm here to see Maryann. I want to help her celebrate." I told him.

"The only way you can help is by telling us where to find Sam." Lafayette squeezed my neck.

"If you choke me I can't talk." I slapped at his hand.

"Let her go, Lafayette. Get her a dress." Maryann appeared from the living room in a beautiful vintage white gown with beading on the bodice.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing in my Gran's wedding dress?" I shouted at her.

"It's a wedding, silly. Tonight, my husband comes after all this time, and you...you are going to be my maid of honor." She said with this delusional happiness.

"Your maid of honor? Why me?"

She stepped closer to me, staring at me with this crazy look on her face. "Because Sam will come for you. He's a good man, that Sam."

"He told me all about you. I know what you are."

"I don't think you have the slightest idea of what I am."

"So then it wasn't you that attacked me in the woods?"

A light of recognition seemed to go on in her eyes. "That was you?" She rubbed her chin as if lost in thought. "What a divine experience that was."

"Wish I could say the same."

She reached out and touched my arm. "Oh no, no, no, no, it was. Sookie, you have an amazing gift inside you."

I jerked away from her. "Keep your hands off me."

"I thought, after Tara told me about your ability, that maybe you were the one I was looking for to bring Him forth, but I knew after I scratched you that you weren't the one. You have other powers. They're much deeper, and definitely stronger, than the power of a shifter." She touched me again, and I put my hand on her face to push her away.

"I said, _keep your fucking hands off me_!" I screamed at her, and this energy flowed from my hand, sending her flying backward.

She gasped, almost enraptured by the energy. Her body shook the way it had done the night before on the lawn, and her energy changed. "Do that again." She came at me, and pressed my hand to her face, but nothing happened.

"Do what?"

"Whatever it was you just did. It was the most spine tingling sensation. I want to feel it again." She said with glee.

"I didn't do anything." I pulled my hand back.

"I have her dress." Lafayette came back down from my old bedroom with a white gown in his hands.

"Excellent. Now all we need is Sam Merlotte, and He will come." Maryann clapped her hands under her chin.

"Take off your clothes, Sook." Lafayette stared at me.

"Hell no!"

He advanced on me much quicker than I thought he could. "I have the blood of a thousand year old vampire in my veins, now put the mothafuckin' dress on." He snarled at me.

I felt my stomach drop out. How many thousand year old vampires could there be in Louisiana besides Eric? I knew then that if we were going to fight each other over this, I was more than likely going to lose. I pulled off my t-shirt, and unbuttoned my jeans. Lafayette held the dress up for me to step into. Once I had it on, he zipped me up, and then yanked me into the living room where Arlene was waiting. She was also in a white dress like mine, and there was a crown of ivy resting on her head.

"Awww Sookie, you look beautiful." Her eyes were black pits.

"Arlene?" I really thought I might be sick right then and there. "Arlene, what about Coby and Lisa?" I was on the verge of tears, just thinking of how scared her babies were less than a mile away. They'd already lost Rene, and now they might lose their Mama too? It was just too much.

"They're fine. They're at home." She said in a cheerfully dismissive way.

"Who's taking care of them, Arlene? They're just babies." I sniffled back my frustrated tears.

"They'll be just fine. Lisa's my good girl." Arlene nodded. "Don't cry, Sookie, today is a good day. Tonight, He comes, and nothing will ever be wrong again. You'll see." Arlene hugged me.

Maryann placed a crown of ivy on my head. "I think it's time." She smiled at me, touching my cheek gently.

The front door flew open, and Jason came bursting into the house with Terry Bellefleur at his side. "We got him, Maryann. We got Sam Merlotte!" Jason said with excitement.

I knew this was part of the plan, but I didn't feel any better about it. "He's coming, Maryann. Tonight He comes." Terry said with pride.

"Tonight He comes." She clapped her hands again.

"Time to give away the bride." Lafayette stepped past me to take Maryann's hand, and now he was wearing one of the white dresses too.

I stood there stunned for a second, and if it weren't for Alrene tugging me along behind her, I probably wouldn't have been able to get the momentum to move on my own. A large bonfire had been lit in my front yard, the flames licking at the lemon tree. I could see Jason's tools (his prized possessions, might I add), scattered all over the yard. They'd been used to construct this crazy altar/sculpture near the front porch. There was a large nest at the top of it, and Tara, who was also in a white dress, was cradling a large egg. That must have been the offering Eric told me about. I looked up to the sky as casually as I could, and I saw Eric perched on top of my house. I breathed a sigh of relief to know he was close by. I was acutely aware that might just be the last time I would be glad to see him after we discussed how Lafayette ended up with Eric's blood in his body.

Terry had run off to get Sam, and I stood there taking in the whole scene while Sam was brought forth. His hands and feet were bound, and he was fighting the whole way to the altar. Maryann watched as Sam was tied to the rather unstable looking structure in front of me, and I ran toward Sam in an effort to show I was still fighting all of this.

"You have to let him go, Maryann! Sam has done nothing to you!" I tried to pry her away, but even with the added strength from Eric's blood, I wasn't strong enough to move her.

"This is the way it must be. My husband needs a gift, and Sam is the perfect fit." Maryann stroked Sam's cheek. "I always new you were special, Sam." She kissed him where his lips would be if they weren't covered with duct tape.

And then I had Bill in my ear. "The egg. Don't forget about the egg." He whispered to me, pulling me back from Sam.

Tara handed the egg over to...well, Eggs, and he climbed up the altar to place it at the very top. Maryann put on that crazy bull mask of hers, and her body began to shimmer and shake. I could feel a change in the energy all around us. Her hands and face began to shift into those of a bull. Tara handed a large knife to Lafayette, who handed it to Eggs once he climbed back down from the top of the altar. Eggs stood at the ready for Maryann's command. She was doing some sort of strange dance and chanting in a language I didn't understand. The people in the crowd began to change along with her. I didn't know what to do.

"Do it now!" Maryann shouted, and watched with excitement as Eggs plunged the knife directly into Sam's heart.

All I could do was stand there and scream.

* * *

**Okay, I know we're all sick to death of the Maryann storyline. I promise the next chapter will be the last of her. Then we can get on to bigger and better things. Oh, and for those of you reading **Hot For Teacher**, I promise to try and get the new chapter up tomorrow. I've been uber busy with the contest planning, but the chapter is half written. Stick with me, baby birds. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Under My Skin

Who else wants to join me in a celebratory happy dance at Maryann's demise? Thank you for sticking with me! From here on out we start to go AU and a little more into the SVM side of things. Trust me, it'll make sense once you read it. Although I must warn you AGAIN that there are book spoilers, so if you haven't read at least through book 8, now is the time to go back.

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Chapter Eight: Under My Skin

I knew what I was supposed to do, but my legs were frozen in place. I stood there screaming, watching blood seep from the wound in Sam's chest. Then a clear thought came to me from Sam's brain. _Sookie, you have to smash the egg and run. I'm running out of time._ I snapped back to reality, and ran toward the altar that Sam was tied to. I slammed into it as hard as I could, and I wondered why none of my vampire backup was coming to my aid here. Surely it would only take one of them to knock it down, and they would do it much faster than I possibly could. Yet, Eric remained on the roof of my house, and I still had no idea where Pam had disappeared to. Bill didn't move any closer to help me, and so I rammed into the altar again.

"Be strong, my lover." I heard Eric say over and over again in my head, and now it was making sense.

I looked up at him, crouching on my roof with a smile on his face. I pulled back from the altar for a second, and closed my eyes. I steadied myself and locked out all of the other frenzied brains around me, including Sam's. I took a deep breath, and it seemed like the whole world went silent. When I touched the altar again, there was another explosion of energy from my hands that caused the altar to topple backward. The egg somehow flew forward, while Sam went down with the altar. The egg smashed with a loud splat, and Maryann let out an earsplitting scream.

All of the people in my yard were now grabbing at their ears and crying out in agony. "You ruined my offering!" She glared at me with hatred the likes of which I had never seen before.

"Sookie, you must run!" Bill called out from behind me, and I didn't hesitate to take off.

I ran as fast as I could, but Maryann was hot on my heels. Gone was the docile party lover. In her place was a rampaging bull. Once again, her head began to shift as did her hands. Those claws were only motivation for me to run faster. I got far enough ahead of her that Eric was able to meet me on the path I'd chosen, and he scooped me up out of harm's way. We were up in the trees before Maryann knew what was going on. She stopped and sniffed the air, trying to pick up my scent. She was just about to look up when there was an animalistic snort a little further down the path where she'd just come from.

Eric and I drifted back to earth once she'd shifted back to human form. She was staggering toward a massive white bull. "There you are, my love." She said with a dreamy smile on her face. "I know you would come. I have waited for you for so long. I have ached for you." She held out her hand, and touched the face of the bull.

It snorted again, and shook its tail. She nuzzled the bull, and began to whisper to it. I couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but I would rather not have those words in my head. Eric and I stood side by side. I hadn't unlinked my arm from around his waist, and without realizing I'd done it, I found my head was resting on his chest. I was mesmerized by what I was seeing in front of me. She was so gentle with the bull, so loving toward it. Could she really have been waiting for a bull to show up this whole time? I was baffled.

And then, just as she was about to kiss the side of its head, the bull jerked violently, and gored her in the chest. She gasped and just sort of froze. The bull jerked again, sending its horn deeper into her body, and it picked her up off the ground. She groaned and threw her head back, black blood seeping from her mouth. I gasped, and stepped forward, letting go of Eric. I could see the bull's horn coming out of her back. And then, just when I was sure things couldn't possibly get any crazier, the bull shifted.

"Sam?" I whispered under my breath. I hadn't been made privy to this part of the plan, but I suppose it was for the better.

His chest was all healed, but his arm was inside of Maryann's. He stared hard at her as she gasped for her last breath. "I knew it was you." Maryann smiled at him.

Sam looked almost pained about what he was going to do, and the next thing I knew, he was holding her heart in his hand. It was as black as the blood running out of her mouth and onto my Gran's beautiful wedding dress. "No, Maryann, it was _you_." Sam dropped her heart on the ground, and Maryann fell right beside it.

Her body shriveled and her face turned this strange shade of blackish-green. Her hands and feet were slightly gnarled by her sudden death, and Sam fell to his knees. I rushed over to him to make sure he was okay. He was breathing hard. I had no idea how he could have healed so quickly, and then I saw Bill staggering toward us on the path.

"Bill?" My heart almost leapt out of my chest, and I took off running again. Bill slumped into my arms, and I just about fell over under his weight. "Bill, what did you do?" I brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

"I told you I would always protect you. This was the only way." He sputtered, barely able to talk.

"Oh, Bill." I looked at the wound on his wrist. "He almost drained you, didn't he?" I looked over at Sam, who was still breathing hard on the ground.

"It was the only way." He said again. "He needed more than I thought he would."

"You healed him?" I was shocked by this. Bill closed his eyes and rested his head against me.

"Here." Pam was magically on the scene, and she was holding a bottle of TrueBlood in her hands.

I took the bottle from her and held it to Bill's lips. He drank slowly, like a baby just learning to suckle. When I looked up, Sam was on his feet again, and Pam was giving him his jeans back. His shirt was ruined from all of the blood. I looked around, even up in the trees, but I didn't see Eric anywhere. I looked down at Bill once again, who was looking up at me.

"You're going to be okay, Bill." I promised him.

"You should go help the others. I will be fine here." Bill took the bottle from my hands.

It seemed like there was something I should be saying to him right then, but I couldn't think of what it was. So I kissed his forehead, and then ran back toward my house to see what sort of help I could be in the aftermath of it all.

The question of where Eric had disappeared to was answered when I got back to my house. He had all of the unwounded residents of Bon Temps standing before him. His eyes were glowing more intensely than I had ever seen in the past, and his voice was cooler and crisper. He was glamouring them, each and every one of them. I had never seen a vampire glamour an entire crowd all at once before. I didn't think it was even possible. But then, Eric isn't your average vampire, and there are many things I don't know about his powers.

"He's magnificent up there, isn't he?" Pam snuck up on me. She smiled with pride. "We should all aspire to be like him."

I looked over at her with a strange expression on my face. Pam had never been one for hero worship in the past. Generally, she was either arguing with Eric (as most people tended to do), or she was rolling her eyes at him. She was loyal to him, but she challenged him at the same time. In most things she shared his strange humor, but failed to understand his feelings toward me. Hell, _I_ failed to understand his feelings toward me.

"So, what was that thing you did right before the altar fell over?" Pam asked me quietly.

"What thing?" I stared at her.

She smiled at me and tilted her head. "You can't tell me you don't remember, Sookie. I would have felt energy like that from a mile away."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I played dumb, but I knew what she was talking about. I just didn't know what it was, or how to explain it to her.

"Looks like there's more to you than we thought. Maybe you're not human after all." Pam was a little too excited about saying that to me, but she didn't stick around to hear my response.

"You did good tonight, Sookie." Sam stood beside me where Pam had been just a moment before.

"Thanks. You didn't do so bad yourself." I smiled over at him. "You could have told me that Bill was going to heal you though. I wouldn't have panicked so much, and you wouldn't have had to take so much of his blood."

"He'll recover." Sam put his arm around me, and kissed the side of my head. "I wonder if they all will?" He nodded toward the crowd in front of us.

"Eric's putting the whammy on 'em as we speak." I whispered, and watched as Eric continued to talk to the crowd.

When he was finished, the crowd began to disperse a bit. The only ones exempt from the glamour were Sam and Tara. I had insisted she not be glamoured because I wanted her to see the damage that had been done to my house. I didn't want to blame her for all of this, but there was a part of me that couldn't help it. I had tried to warn her about Maryann, and I wasn't the only one. She hadn't listened. She got too into the parties and the drugs to keep any of her common sense. I had no idea how I was going to put my house back together again, but it would have to be done somehow.

"I'm gonna go check on Tara." Sam said when he spotted her sitting alone under the lemon tree, her back turned on Eric so she wouldn't be included in the mass-glamour. Sam couldn't be glamoured because he was a shifter.

Arlene and Terry were clutching on each other, and they looked completely drained. Who knows when they'd slept last. "I'm so hungry I could eat the ass out of a mule." Terry said as I approached them. "Sookie, hey, sorry about the house. What a mess, huh?"

I snorted and said, "That's one way to put it." I glared at Arlene. I knew this wasn't her fault, but I was still mad at her. "Where's Coby and Lisa?"

She gasped, and covered her mouth. "Oh my God!" She looked at Terry with terror in her eyes.

"They're at Bill's." I told her.

"Oh thank God." She sank against Terry. "Wait. What are they doing at Bill's?" The terror was back.

"Don't worry, no one fed on them. They are perfectly safe there. I didn't have anywhere else to take them, and I couldn't let them stay alone anymore." I sighed when Arlene hugged me.

"You are a good friend to me Sookie. We're lucky to have you." Arlene's voice cracked as she squeezed me.

"The house is unlocked if you want to go get the kids." I told her as I pulled away.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get over there right away. Lord, I'm so tired." She mumbled, and slumped against Terry again. "Thank you, Sookie."

"You're welcome, Arlene." I nodded at her and then Terry.

"Sook!" Jason came charging at me. "Man are you a sight for sore eyes." He hugged me.

"Yeah, you too. How've you been?"

"I don't know." He said with a dumbfounded look on his face. "The last thing I remember is leaving Vampire Bill's to go check on Sam. I guess there was a gas leak here? Lucky no one was hurt too bad."

"Yeah it is." I looked past my brother over to Eric, who was watching people gather themselves up and head for home. "Jason you should get home and get some sleep."

"I was gonna stick around and help you clean up." He told me.

"That's real sweet of you, but it's dark. There isn't much we can do tonight. Just get some rest, and we'll get a fresh start in the daylight." I insisted.

"You're the best sister a brother could ask for, you know that?" He hugged me, and I thought I might cry.

"I love you too, big brother." I squeezed him a little harder than usual, and then he ran off to catch up with some of the other people headed toward his section of town.

I looked around for Bill, but I didn't see him anywhere. I figured he'd be back on his feet by now, but maybe he needed a little more time. So, I walked over to Eric who was standing as still as a statue, except for his eyes. His arms were folded over his chest, and his posture was perfect. I could see smears of blood on the front of his shirt, but I didn't know who the blood belonged to. It could have been mine, for all I knew.

"I thought you would be with Bill, nursing his wounds." Eric's voice was cold.

"I thought you'd be back in Shreveport already." I answered him.

"I said I would help clean up the mess." He didn't look at me.

"You don't have to do that. You've done enough." I tried not to sound like I was blaming him for my confusion, but he was able to read between the lines.

"What are you mad about now?" He asked me.

"Plenty of things, but I don't really feel like discussing them at the moment. I'm too tired." I rubbed my eyes, and when I opened them, he was gone.

* * *

Tara would be staying in the vacant row house that Sam had rented out to Dawn before her death. My poor house was going to need a lot of work to get it back in shape. Fortunately, my brother was pretty good at fixing broken things, and I knew he would help me get the house back in order as fast as he could. Terry had even offered to help out some. Bill was already talking about calling contractors and things like that, but there was nothing structurally wrong with the house. I needed new windows, floors, dishes and a bunch of other little things. I would also have to replace my front door since it had been kicked in at one point, and I was thinking about maybe doing the same for the service porch.

Bottom line, it would be a while before I would feel secure in my own house again. Tara had already begun to apologize profusely for what happened, and she promised to pay me back for all of the damage that had been done. I'd told her not to worry about it then. We would work something out later on once the smoke cleared. All I wanted to was to go back to Bill's, and get to sleep.

When we got back to his house, it was obvious to me the last thing Bill had in mind was sleeping, but I was just too exhausted. Not to mention, I still had memories of Eric floating in my head, and it seemed wrong to have sex with Bill when I was thinking of someone else. The fact that I had even _been_ with someone else was difficult enough for me to process. I warmed another bottle of blood for him, and sat down with him on the couch. He was pouting in a pretty big way, and I knew it was time to discuss the wedge between us.

"Is something wrong, Bill? You haven't been yourself all night." I brushed his hair back from his face, trying to sound concerned, but casual at the same time.

He gave me one of those pained looks that told me I wasn't going to like what he had to say. "I do not like that Eric has inserted himself in your life the way he has."

"You mean what happened in Dallas?" I wasn't going to offer up anything I didn't have to. Part of me wanted to confess what I'd done, but mostly, I just wanted to sweep it under the rug and pretend it had never happened.

"Yes, there is that." Bill nodded, and leaned forward to put his blood down on the coffee table. "I am more concerned with how he has been since we returned from Dallas."

"What do you mean?" I asked, continuing to play dumb.

"Sookie, I can smell him all over you." Bill looked at me with sad blue eyes.

I inhaled deeply before saying, "Well of course you can, Bill. I flew with him to the house, and then he pulled me out of the way before Maryann could catch me on the path-"

"Sookie, vampires have a very distinct sense of smell. We can track almost anything. I know your smells. _All_ of them, and what I smelled on Eric wasn't just your perfume or your hair conditioner." Bill wasn't looking at me anymore.

"What are you saying, Bill?" I turned so my body was angled toward his.

So this was it. I could tell him the truth about what I'd done, and possibly lose him forever, or I could lie and _still_ possibly lose him forever. Either way, I felt like I was trapped. In the end, the one thing I had always prided myself on was my honesty. I had never lied to anyone before this unless I had to on account of my ability. I told the truth, for better or for worse, and I felt like I owed that very same truthfulness to Bill. Especially after all of the lectures I'd given him about being honest with me. If we were going to stay together, and move forward in our relationship, I had no other choice.

"Did you have sex with Eric?" Bill was pleading through his eyes for me to tell him he was being crazy. He wanted to be making it all up in his own head. He wanted to doubt himself, and think he was just being paranoid.

My eyes filled with tears, and I didn't even have to say it. He knew just from looking at me what I was going to say, and I felt horrible. "Yes, Bill, I did." I admitted, but I didn't feel as good about it as I thought I would. Gran had always said that confession was good for the soul. I think my Gran might have been wrong about that. "I am so sorry. If I could turn back the clock-"

"I understand." Bill was furious, I knew that much, but it wasn't with me. "It was because of his blood. I knew this was going to happen!" Bill was in a rage, and threw his bottle of blood across the room, making red splatters and splashes on his cobalt walls. "I knew that if he got you to drink his blood it was only a matter of time before he talked you into this too."

"Bill, I-"

"It wasn't your fault, Sookie." Bill looked at me with angry determination, and then got up off the couch.

"Bill, where are you going?" I asked when he stomped toward the door.

"To have a talk with Eric." Bill growled.

"Bill, don't!" I ran after him, but knew he could easily outrun me if he wanted to.

"Sookie, I cannot just let this go. He took something from you, from _us_. He had no right to do what he did. How can you not feel violated by him?" Bill glared at me, and then there was the dawn of realization. "How many times did it happen?" He stared hard at me, and I felt myself shrinking.

"Bill, it doesn't matter." I looked at the floor.

He grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me up against the double doors. "How many?" He snarled at me, his fangs were out and ready to punish someone.

I thought about it for a second. Crazy that I had to think about it. "Five."

"Five?" Bill staggered backward, and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Bill, I am so sorry. I don't know how I let it happen." I was crying now, and I really did feel badly for the pain I was putting him through.

"Get out." He muttered.

"Bill, I-"

"Sookie, if you value your life, you will leave here now before I lose control of myself." Bill warned me with steely eyes.

The coldness in his voice shook me, and I knew he was serious. "I'm sorry Bill." I said through my tears once more before turning and walking out of his house, maybe for the last time.

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**Soooooooooo...who wants another chapter today? In other news, I swear I'm working on HFT, I've just been super busy with the contest. I'm also a twitter junkie. Thank the Sookieverse ladies for that. They're just so much fun. I'm also working on promo fic for the 7 Deadly Sins Contest. You know...since I don't have enough to do *head desk* Thanks for reading!**


	9. Walking After You

Another one for **modiggy**...

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Chapter Nine: Walking After You

I didn't know where to go after I walked out of Bill's house. I didn't want to go home, but I didn't know where else to go. I could have gone to Jason's but he needed his rest. He didn't need me to dump my problems on him. He'd been through enough in the last few days without having to take on my load of troubles. I could have gone to Sam's but I could only imagine the reaction I'd get there. Sam wasn't happy about me being with Bill, but he would be even _less_ happy about me being with Eric. Sam wasn't naive enough to consider _any_ vampire to be harmless, but on the scale of friend to foe, Bill definitely ranked more on the friend side than Eric did. I'm quite certain that if Sam knew what Eric had done to Lafayette, he'd probably do something stupid enough to get himself killed. I couldn't take any more risks than I already had.

I got in my car and just sat behind the wheel for a few minutes and sobbed. I was so confused. Bill was blaming Eric for everything, or at least, he had been at first. Maybe he still was, I don't know. What I do know, is that it wasn't all Eric's fault. I'm an adult. I could have said no, and I didn't. I'd wanted to be with Eric. I'd wanted it every single time I'd done it. It wasn't right to blame Eric for my choices. There was a blur of motion from the front of the house, and I knew it was Bill. I didn't know for sure where he was going, but it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The fact that he hadn't gotten in his car told me that he didn't want to be slowed down any.

"Oh shit." I mumbled to myself, and got out of the car. I ran to the front door, thankful I had a key to Bill's house and that he hadn't asked for it back. I ran to the kitchen where he kept his cordless phone, and dialed the number for Fangtasia.

"Thank you for calling Fangtasia, the bar with bite. How may I help you?" It was Pam.

"Pam, it's Sookie. Is Eric there?" I asked her.

"Haven't you two had enough of each other already today?" Pam sounded bored with me.

"Pam, please, this is really important." I pleaded.

She grunted with disgust. "Hold on. I'll see if he'll take your call." She put me on hold, and some creepy music floated over the line.

I tapped my foot anxiously, waiting for someone to pick up the extension. "Come on..." I muttered, and a few seconds later I was greeted by a smooth, yet frustrated Eric.

"What do you want, Miss Stackhouse?"

_Miss Stackhouse?_, oh for the love of God. "Bill knows, and I think he's on his way to you." I warned him.

"You told him?" Eric sounded amused by this. "You surprise me, Sookie."

"It's not funny, Eric. He's furious, and he's blaming it all on you. He thinks you tricked me into it like you did with the blood." I explained to Eric, but he didn't seem too concerned about it.

"You're calling me from his house?" Eric asked.

"How did you know that?"

"Caller I.D., Sookie." He must have rolled his eyes on the other end of the line, I know I rolled mine in Bon Temps. "Did you tell him you weren't tricked?"

"I tried, but he didn't want to hear it. He was going to storm out while we were still fighting, but I stopped him. He asked me how many times we...he wanted to know if it was more than once. I didn't want to answer him because I didn't think it mattered, but then he grabbed me, and-"

"He grabbed you?" Eric cut me off and I immediately wished I'd never called at all. "What do you mean he grabbed you?"

"It was just my shoulders. I'm okay." I insisted.

"But he grabbed you." Now it was Eric's turn to sound furious. "If Bill wants a fight, he'll get one." Eric said, and then hung up the phone.

"Eric? Eric!" I shouted into the phone, but it was dead. "Fuck!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and threw the phone against the wall.

I didn't want to drive to Shreveport, but I didn't want Eric and Bill to kill each other either. By the time I got in the car, Bill had a good ten minute lead on me, and I didn't know how long it would take him to get to Shreveport, being as hyped up as he was. I drove as fast as I could without getting myself into more trouble than I was already in. The last thing I needed was to get stopped for speeding at a time like this. I somehow made it to Shreveport in record time. My car was barely stopped before I threw it in park. I ran to the front door of the bar where Pam was standing, looking a little too enthusiastic to see me.

"Why Sookie, what a pleasure to see you again." Her eyes were sparkling.

"Is Bill here?" I asked her.

"Bill? Bill who?" She was playing with me.

"You know damn well who." I glared at her. "Please, Pam, if he's here..."

"About five minutes now." Pam smiled wide, her fangs now out. "Although, I'm not sure he'll be here much longer." She licked her fangs. "Go on in."

In my head my hands were wrapped around her throat, strangling her like she was a human woman. Even the Pam in my head was laughing at me for that one. I walked into the bar, and headed straight back toward the employees only area, but Chow stepped in the way. "Do you have an appointment, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Pam knows I'm here." I glared at him.

Chow chuckled at me and shook his head. "I fail to see what all the fuss is about." He stepped out of my way. In my head, I wasn't strangling Chow so much as driving a table leg through his chest. If he didn't like me, the feeling was more than mutual.

I walked through the doorway that separated the bar from the employees only area where Eric's office was. His door was closed, and I rose my hand to knock, but I heard Bill and Eric arguing inside. If it weren't for Eric's blood in my system, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear them so easily. My emotions were already pretty overloaded, but it only got worse, the closer I got to Bill and Eric. I had blood bonds with both of them, and I could feel everything they were feeling. They were feeling very different sets of emotions, and it was exhausting.

I pressed my ear against the door, and I kept waiting for one of them to find me standing on the other side of it. If I could feel them, then they could certainly feel me. Yet, the door remained closed. No one summoned me inside. Bill was in the midst of reading Eric the riot act, which surprised me. I thought for sure that I would have to break up a fist fight, but I was thankful that wasn't the case. At least, not yet. Better not count my chickens before they hatch.

"You have violated our code, Eric. You pursued her, knowing she already belonged to another." Bill accused.

"That may be, but I am in a position to take her from you any time I see fit. I may have bonded myself to her, but she made a decision, Bill. You might want to consider that." Eric answered.

"It was the blood, and you know it. Sookie does not have feelings for you."

"Are you quite sure of that?" Eric challenged. "I don't think you know Sookie as well as you like to think you do. She's a strong woman, and quite capable of thinking for herself."

"Do not presume to tell me about Sookie, Eric." There was a current of violence rising in Bill, and I began to worry that their conversation was going to take an ugly turn.

"What Sookie thinks isn't really the issue here, Bill. I think the bigger problem is what she doesn't know. Maybe that's what has rattled your cage so profoundly." Eric ventured.

"What are you talking about?"

"The reason you came back here, of course." There was a smugness to Eric as he spoke.

"I came back here because I am the heir to the land-"

"Now, Bill, that's not entirely true, and we both know it." Eric cut him off. "That's a convenient cover story, of course, but I know a few things."

What was Eric talking about? I'd known the old man who lived in Bill's house. He was a decent enough man, although I wouldn't go so far as to say that we were friends. I contemplated walking away then because I had a feeling I was about to hear something I didn't want to hear. I could feel anxiety coming from Bill. Whatever it was Eric was poking around at, I probably didn't want to know, which meant I needed to know it. I was frozen there in the hall. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't have.

"Then you know I was ordered here by the queen. You know that I was ordered to infiltrate Sookie's life, and gain her trust." Bill sounded like he was speaking through a tightly clenched jaw.

He what? My heart shattered just then. My stomach flip-flopped, and I thought I was going to be sick right there in the hallway. Bill was with me because someone told him to? What the fuck kind of sick joke is that? I didn't know what to feel, or what to think. All I knew was that I was disgusted with Bill, and with myself. How did I get into this whole mess? And how was it that the one person I thought would do anything to deceive me was actually the one being truthful? How had I gotten so completely turned around and confused? I had a million questions, and I was looking for answers for every single one of them.

I knew I was wrong to have sex with Eric. I shouldn't have done that while I was still with Bill. Eric had been right when he'd said that the first time it could have been excused by the blood. I could agree with that. But even that time had been a choice in my part. I could have walked away from him, and I didn't. It wasn't just the blood that had gotten to me. And if it _was_ just the blood, then why couldn't the same be said for Bill? The thought had passed through my mind, but I hadn't paid it any real attention.

"As Sheriff, I was informed that you would be returning to my area, but I wasn't made aware of the reasons why until I returned here this evening. The queen feels that you are endangering her operation by so firmly attaching yourself to Sookie, and I must say that I agree with her. You are no longer seeing things clearly, Bill. Mainstream all you want, but there are some things that you cannot change. Have a human girlfriend, if you must, but don't forget what you are. You are a vampire, and always will be." Eric told him in a slightly harsh tone.

"Not by choice." Bill argued.

Eric actually laughed at this. "You sound like a spoiled teenage girl." I could feel Eric coming closer to the door, but I didn't move. "You can't become human again, Bill, so you might as well let it go. You can either accept what you have become, or you can meet the sun. The choice is yours."

"Stay away from Sookie, Eric." Bill said in a tone of warning.

"Or what, exactly? It would not be wise for you to threaten me." Now Eric was speaking in a tone of warning.

Frankly, I'd heard enough. I was so angry at the moment that I didn't care what happened to either of them. Let them tear each other limb from limb for all I care. I might have betrayed Bill by cheating on him with Eric, but was that any worse than lying about his reasons for coming here? Did he even really love me? Did I want to know the answer to that question? I was tempted to think he _did_ love me, otherwise why show up here like this? On the other hand, it could all be part of some big show. He had to have known I would find out he was here. It just made sense for him to come.

"I've already staked one vampire. Who's to say I won't do it again?" Bill snickered.

I gulped in the hallway, and decided that now was the right time to make my entrance. It was one thing to let them beat the tar out of each other. It was another to let Bill stake Eric for my decision. I twisted the knob on the door, and pushed, but the door hit something. Eric. I had completely forgotten he was so close to the door. He stepped out of the way and the door flew open. I tumbled inside, and he caught me, much to Bill's chagrin.

"Take your hands off her." Bill glared at Eric, his fangs out and ready for fighting. "You should not be here, Sookie."

"Neither should you." I retorted, and didn't bother to notice that Eric was inspecting my arms. "What are you doing?" I asked when I finally realized what he was doing.

"Inventory." Eric answered easily, scanning my arms. His fangs ran out, and he gently lifted my arm.

"Where did this come from?" He pointed to five finger-shaped bruises on my right arm. I sighed, and looked up at Eric, who turned his attention back to Bill.

I was suddenly extremely afraid of being in between the two of them. "It's just a bruise, Eric." I was trying to diffuse the situation, but they were both too far gone for that.

Eric was a blur of motion, and before any of us had a chance to react, he had his hand wrapped around Bill's throat. He'd slammed Bill up against a wall, causing it to crack under the pressure. Even in Dallas when Eric was fighting for Godric's release, I hadn't seen him as furious as he was just then.

"She has the blood of _two vampires_ in her body, and yet you touch her in a way that leaves marks. Is that how you always treat the woman you love?" Eric demanded.

Bill tried to fight back against Eric, but Eric was clearly going to win the Strong Man competition, hands down. It was simply in my best interest to stay out of the way. But then there was a well-placed kick from Bill, and the two of them were wrestling like high school boys. Only there was a lot more growling than usual. In less than a second, Pam and Chow were in the room as well. Oh this wasn't good.

I had never seen two vampires fight before, much less three on one. It didn't take much to get Bill and Eric separated from one another, seeing as how Eric was already much stronger than Bill. Once they were pulled apart, Chow was given the job of restraining Bill to keep him from attacking a second time. I sat on the couch with my knees pulled to my chest. I was afraid to move. There were an awful lot of fangs in the room, and I was pretty certain that I wasn't anyone's favorite person at the moment. Chow, especially, wouldn't hesitate to tear my throat out.

"Sookie, I think it is best if you go now." Eric didn't look back at me. He didn't remove his eyes from Bill's. I didn't move. I was too scared to go. I knew the other vampires in the bar could sense that their leader was in trouble, and I was afraid to walk through the crowd alone. "I will walk you to your car."

"No!" Bill struggled against Chow, but it was pointless.

"Oh give it a rest, will you?" Pam rolled her eyes. "Sookie, you simply must come by more often." Her voice was dripping the sarcasm, but I would expect nothing less from Pam.

"Enough!" Eric roared, and extended a hand to me. "Sookie?" His rage wasn't geared toward me.

I took his hand, and let him lead me out of the office. I glanced over my shoulder at Bill, but he wasn't looking at me. The fangbangers at the bar were all dazzled to see Eric coming toward them, but their enthusiasm died down when they saw that he already had a companion with him. They didn't realize he was just escorting me out of the building. We walked out of the bar, and Eric looked to the sky with an almost troubled expression. I hadn't realized it was so late. It was so late, in fact, that it was almost early.

"Eric, I'm sorry-" I started to apologize, but he put a finger over my lips to stop me from talking. He picked up my right arm once again to look a little closer at the bruises. He then looked at my left arm, and found the same things. His rage was building once again. "Eric, it's really okay. They'll heal quickly. I've still got your blood in my system, remember?"

"Why do you think this concerns me, Sookie? You have my blood, and still, look at what he has done to you." He held up my arm to show me the angry bruises that had formed. His blood had prevented me from feeling the pain of the gesture, but now I was able to see just how hard Bill had grabbed me. "He will pay for this." Eric promised me. He kissed each bruise on my left arm, and it sent chills up my spine.

Since I didn't know what else to say, and I didn't think Eric was the type who would be interested in a hug, I decided it was better to just nod and walk away. So, that's what I did. His eyes stayed on me until I was safely in my car, and headed out of the parking lot. I drove home a little slower than I had driven out of town. Since it was definitely too late to be knocking on Sam's door, I went back to my house. The kitchen door locked just fine, but the front door was another story. I wedged a chair under it, not that I expected anyone to just walk in in the middle of the night. Since it was just about dawn, I wouldn't have to worry about a vampire bursting in. If Bill was going home at all, he was going back to his own house. Something told me, however, that he wasn't going to be coming home so quick.

I don't know what Eric was planning to do with Bill, but at the moment, I didn't really care. I was walking through the living room when a picture frame caught my eye. Inside was a picture of Bill and me that had been taken at Hoyt's birthday party a month before. I was still a little bruised up from my fight with Rene at that point, but I had been so deeply in love with Bill. He had risked his life to save mine, and I was so sure that his love for me was the real thing. Now I didn't know what to believe. My temper got the better of me, and I hurled the picture frame across the room. The corner of the frame caught the wall, leaving a dent before the frame fell to the floor. The glass shattered, but I didn't care. I just left it there with the other ruins in my living room.

I headed to my bedroom, not sure of what I was going to find in there. Surprisingly, the room looked pretty untouched. I guessed that my room was the one Maryann had claimed for herself throughout the entire time she was squatting here. I could smell her on the sheets, so I went to the linen closet to grab a fresh set. I could deal with a lot of things, but not the scent of Maryann in my bed. I made a mental note to pick up some sort of air freshener or mattress cleaner to get any trace of her out. Just having to remember her was going to be bad enough. I didn't want to have to smell her too.

By the time I finally climbed into bed, the sun was already starting to rise. My curtains were closed, and I planned to sleep as late as I wanted. I felt like I hadn't slept in days. I also hadn't realized how much I'd missed my own bed. I fell asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. I sank into vibrant dreams that got me tangled in the sheets, and caused me to wake up in a cold sweat in the late afternoon. I'd slept for almost twelve hours, and I felt like I could have stayed in bed for much longer than that.

I probably would have if I weren't so damn hungry. I emerged from my bedroom to find Tara cleaning the kitchen with Eggs at her side. "Well, well, look who's finally up." Tara smiled when she saw me.

"I had a long night. Is there any coffee?" I asked her.

"Of course." She pointed to the pot. "I thought you were staying at Bill's last night?"

"Change of plans." I said in a tone that let her know I didn't want to talk about it.

"Right. Well, um, this was on the porch for you this morning." Tara handed me a large box once I was seated at what was left of my kitchen table.

It was beautifully wrapped in red paper with a black bow. "Was there a card?" I asked her.

"Not that I could see." She shrugged.

I untied the bow, and for a second, I was afraid there was going to be a dead rabbit in there or something equally gruesome. I pulled the thick paper away from the box, and threw it on the floor, since the place was already a mess. What was a little wrapping paper? The box underneath the paper was white and unmarked, so I really had no idea what to expect. I pulled the lid off the box and peeled back the tissue paper. That's where I found the card. The handwriting was unfamiliar, which told me that a store clerk had written out the card. _Please accept my apologies for my behavior last night._ That's all the card said. Well gee...that clears up a lot.

"What is it?" Tara asked when she saw the expression of confusion on my face.

I reached into the box, and pulled out a pretty red dress that looked like many of the others hanging in my closet. It was my size, and absolutely beautiful. Whomever had sent it had certainly done their research, but given the number of people who felt they owed me an apology at the moment, I didn't know who it was from.

"Sookie, that's beautiful." Tara smiled at me. "Looks like someone loves you."

"Yeah. Someone loves me alright." I snickered, and stuffed the dress back in the box.

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**VAlady**, whenever you're ready with the chorus, I'm all ears *wink*

Thanks for reading, lovlies *hugs*


	10. Dream On

Chapter Ten: Dream On

I threw myself into work and fixing up my house. I tried not to think about Eric or Bill. I tried to build a wall up around myself because I didn't want them honing in on me either. I just wanted some space to think things over. Amazingly enough, neither of them tried to contact me. I was worried about Bill, given the position he was in when I'd left the bar. I felt guilty for having put him in that position. He wouldn't have gone to Eric like that if I hadn't allowed myself to get so swept up in Eric. But then it occurred to me that maybe the conflict between Bill and Eric was inevitable. My indiscretions were just the straw that broke the camel's back. I found myself wondering how they had come to dislike each other so much.

The easy answer, of course, was to assume that it was all because of me, and so that was the impression I operated under. I never assumed they had once been good friends who were torn apart by both of them having feelings for the same woman. I wasn't that naive or full of myself. I knew there had to be conflict much greater than that, and probably over things I would never understand since I was just a human. The crazy thing is that I missed both of them.

Missing Bill didn't surprise me one bit. In spite of everything, I still loved him. There was a part of me that wanted to get to the truth, and know everything there was to know about our relationship. I wanted him to explain to me how he could lie to me so often, and about things that were so important. I wanted to understand how my actions bore a greater weight than his. I was being punished for something I had done, and I could accept that. I didn't expect him to forgive me for what I had done, but after Lorena's appearance in Dallas, I expected him to be a little more understanding of the situation I'd found myself in. If he asked, I would tell him anything he wanted to know about what had happened between Eric and me. I felt I owed him as much.

The thing was, I wasn't sure I would get the same from him. I felt like he would always be hiding something from me, and _that_ was what made me wonder if there was anything left in our relationship worth saving. How can we work things out if I'm not sure I can trust him anymore? He's been lying to me from the start. How am I supposed to feel about that? How am I supposed to let that go?

I was at work one night when Sam sent me back to the kitchen to get him more limes. Lafayette was back there as well, running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I'd been meaning to talk to him since the night of the "gas leak", as we were now calling it, at my house. He'd said something to me about having thousand year old vampire blood in his system, and I wanted to know what he'd meant by that. Mostly, I wanted to know if he'd somehow had Eric's blood. If that was the case, I wanted to know why. Eric himself had told me that he didn't share his blood with just anyone, and I knew he was being truthful about that. Eric doesn't lie very often, from all I can gather, so if he did, there must be a good reason for it.

"Hey Lafayette, the night of the gas leak, you mentioned something about having thousand year old vampire blood in your system." I said as casually as possible.

Lafayette tried to play it off, but his brain was clearing saying, "What the fuck did you do now? Hookah knows too much already. Just keep your mouth shut." He was going to lie to me, although I don't know why he'd bother. He smiled at me and said, "Sook, you know we was all pretty fucked up that night."

"So then before that night you hadn't seen Eric since the night Bill and I brought you home from Fangtasia?" I asked him, watching him closely. He was going to lie again.

"No. Believe me, the last vamp I want to see is that muthafucka. My knee ain't never gonna be the same." Lafayette flipped the tuna melt in front of him. "Why you askin'? He say something to you?"

"No. I haven't seen him since the night of the gas leak. I was just curious, is all." If he could lie, then so could I. Well, sort of, anyway.

"Sook I told you when ya'll brought me home that night that I was through messin' with vamps, and I am. So I don't know what Eric told you, but we ain't got no more business together." Lafayette told me.

"Fair enough." I nodded and smiled.

"Here." He thrust the tuna melt at me.

"Thanks." I took the plate with me and dropped it off at my table before heading back to the bar with Sam's limes.

"Took you long enough." Sam grumbled. He'd been in a mood for the last few days, but I didn't know why. I would have figured he'd be happy with Maryann out of the picture.

"What's your problem?" I asked him.

"Your boyfriend is over there." He nodded toward Bill's usual table. How I'd missed him sitting there, I don't know. I guess my shields were working better than I'd thought.

Sam didn't know what the problems were that Bill and I were having, but he knew there was trouble. I _might_ have been able to fool a couple of vampires who didn't see me everyday into thinking I was just fine, but the same couldn't be said for Sam. He knew me too well. "I'll go see what he wants." I sighed, and took my tray with me over to his table. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." Bill stared up at me.

"I'm working, Bill. Now isn't the time to work on our relationship." I reminded him.

"I know, but I didn't think you would let me in if I came to your home." He looked down at his folded hands on top of the table.

"Probably not." I admitted. "Look, I know what I did was wrong, and there really isn't a way for me to make up for it." I was hoping that if I apologized, that maybe he would do the same. What I wanted was for him to confess about the conversation he'd had with Eric.

"I am sorry that I hurt you. I should have been more careful, and I should not have let my anger harm you physically." He spoke quietly at that last part, which I was thankful for.

People around Bon Temps weren't crazy about me dating a vampire to begin with, but then to find out I was dating one who had caused me physical pain would be more than they could stand. Sam would be the first one to attempt to drive a stake through Bill's heart, and Bill was smart enough to recognize that. Jason was at the other end of the bar playing pool with Hoyt, so it was only a matter of time before word would have gotten back to my brother. What a mess _that_ would be.

"Sookie can we get some napkins when you get a minute?" Linette Parrish called out from her table in the corner.

"Be right there." I smiled in her direction. "Look, Bill, I have to get back to work."

"I know." He nodded. "Will you please stop by my house later?"

I sighed and thought about it for a second. "Alright." I relented, and he cracked a small smile, which made me smile back. "I'm here until we close."

"Then I will see you after midnight." Bill nodded. I nodded back, and then went to get the napkins Linette had asked for. When I turned back to Bill's table, he was gone.

* * *

I walked out of work that night to find Pam, of all people, waiting for me by my car. I stopped in my tracks, suddenly very nervous about what she was doing in Bon Temps. Even under the very best of circumstances, I would be hard pressed to consider Pam a friend. Given the current circumstances, I was pretty sure her visit wasn't going to bring me any good news. She started to walk toward me when I didn't come any closer to her, but she didn't look any more menacing than she normally did. I could breathe just a little bit easier after that.

"What can I do for you, Pam?" I asked her when we were an acceptable distance from one another.

"You can stop playing games with Eric." Pam said bluntly.

I snickered at this. "I'm not playing games with Eric."

"Of course you are. You have been toying with him since the second you met. You may not have known you were doing it, which I find hard to believe, but you were. I know him better than anyone, now that Godric is gone. I have never seen him like this before, and we have been together for almost two centuries. He sees something in you that tears him up on the inside. He does not want to feel anything for you, but he cannot help himself." Pam explained to me.

"Yeah, well, he's never said anything to me about it." I shrugged. "Why should I throw away what I have with Bill for someone who can't even be bothered to tell me how he feels?"

"Don't be stupid, Sookie." Pam took another step closer to me. "You're a little old for teenage dramatics by now, don't you think? If Eric didn't care, he certainly wouldn't have bothered showing up at that church in Dallas to rescue you. He wouldn't have helped you when you were attacked by the maenad, and he definitely wouldn't have shown up here to help get rid of her once and for all."

"And how am I supposed to know he wasn't doing all of those things just to protect his own interests?" I asked her.

"You can't." Pam answered. "You can't be sure that anyone's intentions are honorable, Sookie. You just have to trust that they are."

"You think I should trust Eric?"

"Hasn't he earned that by now? What else does he have to do, Sookie? He's risked his life for you. He has saved your life a handful of times. What else do you want from him?"

"I want the words. I want to hear him say it." I told her. I didn't think I was asking for too much. I knew that Pam had a point, and that she was probably right with all that she'd said, but sometimes a girl just needs to hear the words. "I thought you'd be happy to see me keeping away from Eric."

"I am not here for you, Sookie. I am here for Eric. Although I will say that as humans go, he could do worse than you." That was the nicest thing Pam had ever said to me, and probably the best I would ever get from her.

"Does Eric know that you're here?" I asked her.

"No." Pam said immediately. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him that I came. He is stubborn and very set in his ways. I generally make it a point not to interfere in his personal matters, but I am here because of my loyalty to him. I want him to get his head back where it belongs, and ever since the fight with the maenad, he has lost his focus. It pains me to say this, but you are the only one who can help him get it back."

"Do you love him, Pam?" I asked since it seemed like this might be the one and only time that Pam might be willing to admit to such a thing.

"I admire him a great deal, Sookie. He gave me gift, for which I can never repay him. He created me. He may have taken my mortal life, but he replaced it with something far greater than that, and I will always be grateful for it. But I do not love him." Pam was being honest, and I appreciated that.

"What would you do if you were in my shoes?" I asked Pam.

She thought about it for a second, and then said, "You have the opportunity to advance yourself here, Sookie. You have a big decision to make. While I do not like Bill in any sense of the word, I have to tolerate him because he is one of my kind." She acknowledged Bill's vampire status only barely. "You have the option of sticking with Bill because he is the safer choice for you. He will do what you ask, when you ask it of him because you make him feel more alive. Eric will challenge you, and force you to step outside of your own world in order to grow. Being with Eric can be maddening, I know this from experience. But from what I remember of my human life, being stagnant in the same place for too long is no good either. Opportunities such as the one you have are rare. It would be unwise to turn your back on it so quickly."

"So you think I should be with Eric?"

Pam sighed with frustration and rolled her eyes. "Dear Abby would probably tell you you should ask yourself what you want your life to look like. My guess is that you will live to be an old woman, but you can trust me when I tell you that eighty years goes by very quickly. Do you want to spend them attached to Bill, living the same life day after day, or do you crave a deeper adventure? When you know the answer to that question, then you will know which man to choose." Pam advised.

"Thank you, Pam." I found it amusing that Pam was invested in Dear Abby's advice, but didn't quite speak with the same eloquence.

"You know, Sookie, you and Eric are very similar creatures. You both have a large passion for life, but you are both afraid of what is in your heart. You know what is there because it stares you in the face, and it wakes you in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, but you try to pretend like it doesn't matter. Denying yourself the things you want doesn't make the craving go away. Besides, how fair is it to Bill to let him think that he is the one you want if that's not true?" Pam pointed out.

I had a lot to consider. "Thank you for coming, Pam. I will not speak of your visit." I promised her.

"You are welcome. Goodnight, Sookie." She nodded, and then disappeared in a blur of motion.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late. I had some extra side work I had to get done before I could go." I apologized to Bill when I got to his house.

I dropped my purse by the door, and followed him to the living room. He looked as grim as he usually did, and I could tell he was sniffing around me a little. "Was Pam at the bar this evening?" He asked me.

"For a bit." I nodded.

"What did she want?" He asked.

"It was personal, Bill. I can't really talk about it with you."

"You and Pam are friends now?" Bill looked at me with disbelief.

"I don't know if I would go that far." I smiled. "She came to see me, but I was asked not to tell anyone that. Please don't mention it to anyone."

"Sookie, I am sorry for the way I treated you. I should have been more clear about what Eric was capable of, and I was not. I failed you." Bill looked at his feet.

"You didn't fail me, Bill. What happened between Eric and me wasn't your fault. I had a choice to make, and I made it. I wish I hadn't hurt you as bad as I did."

"Why did you do it?" Bill asked me. "Was Dallas the first time, or just one of many?"

"Does it really matter? The important thing is that you know that it happened. Why bring up all the details of it?"

"Because if I didn't fail you, then there has to be some other reason why this happened."

"It happened because I was reckless. It wasn't because I was angry at you, or because of Eric's blood. I just let it happen."

"You wanted him?" Bill looked like he was going to be sick.

"I guess I did." I shrugged. "It would be too easy to say that I made my decision because I had his blood in my body. If that's the case, then I would have to wonder about our relationship too. I've had your blood from the very beginning, Bill. That same night the Ratts almost killed me, I started having dreams about you. I was having them every night, and at the time I just assumed it was because I was attracted to you. But now...knowing what I do, maybe it was just the blood." I suggested, and Bill looked crushed. "Isn't it possible?"

"Do you love me, Sookie?"

"Of course I love you."

"Do you love Eric?" He asked anxiously.

"No." I said quickly.

"Do you care for him?"

"I don't know, Bill. When it comes to Eric, I'm not sure what to think or feel. He's done a lot of good things for me. He's not as evil as I thought he was." I shrugged again.

Bill shook his head. "He's manipulated you into thinking he cares." He was whispering, which told me he was just thinking out loud, but his statement made me angry.

"I can think for myself, Bill. I don't need you to explain everything to me. Vampire or not, he's still just a person. The psychology is the same either way, and I'm pretty good at reading people." I reminded him.

"Sookie, I did not mean to imply-"

"Yes you did." I nodded, and got up off the couch. "I think it was a mistake coming here." I started toward the door, but of course, he got there first.

"Sookie, I think maybe it would help if we got away from Bon Temps for a few days." Bill told me.

"You're joking, right?" My jaw dropped. "Bill, I hardly think now is the time for us to talk about going away together."

"I think it would help. We wouldn't have the distractions we have here. It would just be the two of us, and I think we could use a break." Bill suggested.

"I don't know, Bill." I looked away from him after picking up my purse.

He reached into his pocket, and produced to airline tickets. He handed one to me. I opened it, and was curious about the destination. "Vermont? What's in Vermont?"

"I hear it's lovely there this time of year. I was there for a while during The War. I'd like the chance to see it again without a musket strapped to my back." He told me.

"I have to think about it." I tucked the ticket into my purse.

"Please do." He opened the door. "May I kiss you goodnight?"

I thought about it for a second, wondering if that was a good idea. "Just once."

He put his hands on my face, and kissed me gently. It definitely wasn't the same as it used to be, but I attributed that to the turmoil in our relationship. He stood on the porch and watched me walk to my car, but he didn't follow me. I made the short drive home, and decided to take a long hot bath. I seemed to do my best relaxing there, and some of my thinking, only second best to when I could lay out in the sun. Since it was too late for that, the tub would have to do. I sank into the warm water, prepared to let all of my troubles be washed away for a while. Instead, I ended up nodding off, and having another one of my dreams about Eric.

* * *

**Okay, so please, please, please don't kill me in reviews for the doormat Sookie we saw in this chapter. The girl is struggling to make sense of things, but I swear on a stack of Swedish sexpancakes that she's going to pull her head out of her ass really soon. On another note, how 'bout that Pam, huh? *laughs nervously* I'll be posting a few more chapters tonight. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Patterns of Fairytales

Chapter Eleven: Patterns Of Fairytales

I dreamt that Eric was waiting for me in my bed when I got out of the tub. He was stretched out with his head propped up on his large hand. He was covered by my sheets from the waist down, but his top half was bare. He patted the mattress next to him, anxious for me to get into bed next to him. I dropped my towel, and slid into bed next to him. He twirled my hair in his fingers for a few seconds before lowering his face to mine to kiss me. He pulled the top half of my body onto his, and when the kiss broke, I just rested my head on his chest up near his shoulder. For once, he didn't feel cool under my skin, and it took me a minute to realize that in my dream, he had a heartbeat. His fingers continued to play with my hair until I fell asleep.

I woke with a start in the tub. The water around me was almost cold, and I wondered how long I had been in the tub. I pulled myself from the water carefully, since my legs were a little rubbery from floating for so long. I wrapped a towel around my body, and headed to my bedroom. It was almost four in the morning. I'd been in the tub for more than two hours. I dried off and pulled on a nightgown. I sank into my bed, and went to sleep almost instantly. I hadn't realized I was so tired, but the bath had done what I wanted it to. I was incredibly relaxed.

When I woke up the next morning, it was just before ten. The house was silent, which I was thankful for. I wasn't in the mood to deal with Tara just then. She was thinking about staying in the row house on a more permanent basis anyway, since she wanted to stay with Eggs. She could afford it if they stayed together. It was nice to see her so happy for a change. Lord knows Tara hasn't had the easiest path to follow in life. It seemed like just about everyone that came into Tara's life betrayed her at some point. I just hoped that Eggs would be the exception to the rule. I don't know if Tara could handle another disappointment like that.

I made a pot of coffee while I showered. It was my day off, which I was thankful for as well. It was also laundry day if I planned on wearing clean clothes to work the next day. I went to the fridge to get milk for my coffee, and I spotted the airline ticket Bill had given me. I didn't even remember putting it on the fridge. I looked at it a little more closely, and realized it was for the upcoming weekend. He hadn't been kidding about going away right after the battle with Maryann. If I went, we would be leaving on Friday and coming home on Tuesday. I would have to talk to Sam about taking some time off, and since I'd just returned from Dallas, I wasn't sure how keen he'd be on me taking more time off so soon. Frankly, I wasn't sure I could afford to do that.

I knew if I told Bill I couldn't afford it, he would offer to help me out, but I didn't feel right about taking his money. _Especially_ given our current situation, I wouldn't feel right about it. I was torn on whether or not to accept Bill's invitation. It was a lovely gesture, and maybe he was right that we needed to get away from all of the outside influences on our relationship. He didn't need the vampire community yakking in his ear anymore than I needed my human friends telling me what to do. Maybe if we got away from all of them we could find a way to make things work.

Or maybe...and this is the part that scares me, maybe there's nothing to save. The thing is, I wasn't quite ready to give up on him just yet. I felt like I needed to hear his side of the story. I needed to know why the queen of Louisiana had sent him to get into my life. Maybe it had something to do with me being a telepath. Eric was no fool, and he had been able to see value in my ability, even if I considered it to be a curse. Perhaps the queen was no different. I'm guessing she didn't get to be the queen because she had the coolest clothes or the raddest car. She had to be smarter, stronger and probably more ruthless than the average vampire. If that was the case, she was the last woman I wanted to cross.

What I needed was someone that was impartial to advise me, and I was a little sorry that Gran wasn't around. She would have been disappointed in me for the choices I made, but she would have helped me sort it all out and make sense of it. Well, at least she would have tried to. She would have looked out for my own best interests instead of giving me advice based on what she wanted. I spent a decent chunk of time at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a pad of paper. I sat there making pros and cons lists for both Eric and Bill.

Trying to figure out the pros for Bill was difficult, given the questions I had at the moment. I wanted to be able to write that he loved me, because a part of me believed that he did. I wanted to believe that regardless of the reasons why he'd come to Bon Temps, he'd genuinely fallen for me. Of course, that could just be one of those self-preservation instincts kicking in to keep me from falling apart completely. He was protective of me, but I wouldn't really need protecting if I weren't involved with a vampire to begin with. Up until Bill had come to town, Bon Temps had been a pretty safe place. I knew it wasn't all his fault that there had been so much craziness, but he'd had a hand in it, whether he'd intended to or not.

Oddly enough, it was just as difficult to come up with pros for Eric. While it was true that he had proven to me that I could rely on him to help me out in a crisis, I also knew that he wasn't above being deceptive to get his way. In matters of business, he was as honest and straight forward as he could possibly be with me. I completely understood that there were certain things he couldn't tell me because I was a human. Sometimes that bothered me, but mostly, I was fine with it. There were certain things I was better off not knowing. I thought back to what Pam had said, and she was right- Eric definitely _did_ challenge me. Sometimes he drove me crazy, but when I thought about it, I realized it was a good kind of crazy. He forced me to think outside the box, and to be strong. He trusted me to take care of myself. He believed in me, and that meant a lot.

I wasn't so sure that Bill believed in me. I wasn't some fragile little girl who needed a bodyguard all the time. I could be strong and independent, but Bill sometimes seemed to be content with the idea of locking me in a cage. I didn't want to be anyone's prize, and I certainly didn't want to be a trophy wife. I had no interest in being a princess or a kept woman. I wanted to be someone's equal. I wanted to be a partner, not a liability. Mostly, I wanted to be with someone who wanted to be with me. According to Pam, that was precisely what Eric wanted, even if he couldn't say so. I'd _thought_ that was what Bill wanted. Then I overheard that conversation at the bar.

In the end, I figured there was only one way to know for sure what the right decision was. So, I was waiting for Bill on his front porch at sunset. I was sitting on the front steps watching the stars come out from their daytime hiding places. When Bill came out hee sat down beside me, but we stayed quiet for a minute.

"I have to talk to Sam about it, but I think maybe you were right. Maybe a few days somewhere else will help us get things back in line." I looked at Bill, who was smiling at me. "Or, maybe it will tell us that it's time to go our separate ways."

"We can fix this Sookie, I know we can." He put his hand on mine. He said it with such confidence that I wanted to believe him, but I wasn't so sure. "Would you like to come inside?"

"I can't. I have to go talk to Sam. Shall I meet you at the airport?" I asked.

"No, I'll pick you up at your home." He stood, and offered me a hand to help me up.

"Alright. Then I'll see you on Friday." I nodded, and then started walking toward the cemetery to the path that would take me home.

I was walking through the cemetery on the way home, when Eric stepped into my path. He stared at me with those piercing blue eyes of his, and I nearly jumped out of my skin to see him standing there. He had caught me completely off guard, as only a vampire could do. "Dammit, Eric, you scared the hell out of me."

"You're going away with him?" Eric glared at me.

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"I heard you talking." Of course he had!

"Are you spying on me?"

"No. I simply came to check up on you and make sure that you were okay. I knocked on your doors, but you didn't answer. I got nervous when I saw your car parked outside your house, but you weren't answering. Your scent led me toward Bill's, and given the encounter you had with him last time, I was worried for your safety." Eric explained.

"I'm fine." I held up my arms. "See? No bruises."

"What a relief." He said sarcastically, which actually hurt me.

"If you came here to insult me, you've done your job. You can go now." I started walking again, but he was easily back in front of me, so I stopped. "Eric, I have to get home."

"Yes, I know, you need to speak with the Shifter."

"Eric, what I do with Bill is none of your business."

"No, I suppose it isn't." Now he was the one who was wounded.

I sighed, realizing that we were just spinning our wheels. "What do you want from me, Eric? Would it make you happy if I was to tell Bill I never want to see him again? Do you want me to fall swooning at your feet like some silly fangbanger? I won't do it."

"I know that."

"So then what do you want?" I asked him with exasperation.

"Just the truth."

"What does that mean?" I sighed.

"You're a smart woman, Sookie. You figure it out." Eric took off then, leaving me on the dark path that lead back to my house. _Fucking vampires and their passive-aggressive bullshit_, I thought to myself as I continued to walk.

* * *

Getting Sam to agree to give me time off wasn't easy, but I explained to him that I was in need of some time away after all that had happened in Dallas and then with Maryann. He knew I was having problems with Bill, and it was starting to rollover into my work life. I promised him that I would be back on Wednesday, which mean I would only be missing two days of work. I was already scheduled to be off on Saturday, and I was working the lunch shift on Friday. I would go straight home after my shift, and we would fly out to Vermont after dark.

Bill picked me up that Friday, as promised. The driver from Anubis didn't seem happy to be seeing me again so soon after our last encounter, but I had bigger fish to fry than him. Bill tried to make conversation with me, but I was still mulling over the things Eric had said to me in the cemetery a few nights before. Just what truth did he want from me, exactly? What did he think I was hiding? Certainly he had more secrets than I ever would. Although, I assumed he felt he had a right to keep them since he was a vampire. Yeah, well, if he wanted to be in a relationship with me, a lot of that was going to have to change.

Our flight went as smoothly as one could expect, and we arrived in Vermont shortly before midnight. We were staying in a vampire hotel. It wasn't as nice as the one in Dallas, but it would do. There were vampire wedding chapels all over the place, and it dawned on me for the first time that maybe Bill had brought me here because he wanted us to get married. I was pretty wiped out by the time we got checked into the hotel, and all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

It was while I was laying in that large bed all by myself that I realized it had been almost two weeks since the last time I'd had sex with Bill. That was the longest we'd gone without it since we'd started having it. I was still attracted to him, but it wasn't easy to be that close to him when I had such mixed emotions about him. Still, he'd gotten into bed next to me, and snuggled up behind me the way he'd done so many times before. It actually helped me get to sleep. It was just familiar to me, and that was what I needed at the moment. I needed things to feel normal, even if they weren't.

When I woke the next day, he was asleep in the bed beside me. I had some time to myself, so I decided to go check things out. It was a beautiful area, and the hotel we were staying at was right near a river. So, I put on my bathing suit underneath one of my dresses. I grabbed a blanket and a book, and I headed over to the river with the intention of just spending some time out in the sun enjoying the fresh air. I stayed until the sky clouded over, and I could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. There was a renewed glow to my skin, which made me feel better. I headed back to the hotel, and found that it was late afternoon already.

I got in the shower, determined to be dressed for the evening by the time Bill rose for the night. I didn't want him sneaking up on me in the shower. I popped a bottle of blood in the warmer for him, since I also wasn't prepared to be his breakfast. I was sitting on the sofa with my hair still in a towel when he rose for the night. Like always, his eyes just popped open, and he immediately began searching the room for me. When he spotted me on the couch, he was a blur of movement, and then he was sitting next to me.

"How did you sleep?" He asked me.

"Fine, thank you."

"What did you do today?"

"I spent some time down by the river. I read for a while, and worked on my tan." I shrugged. It had been a pretty casual day, and I had enjoyed myself.

"I hope you're hungry. I made reservations for us at a restaurant downtown." He told me.

"Starved." I smiled, and so did he.

"Good." He nodded.

"I put a bottle of O Neg in the warmer for you."

"Thank you." He was disappointed that he was going to have to settle for the synthetic stuff once again, but like I said, I just wasn't ready.

I missed being able to settle myself in his lap, and just let my mind fall open. There had been such an easy silence between us. I used to feel comforted by it. Now I didn't know what to make of the silence. Was it tension? Was it a sign that things were over? I wasn't filled with hope the way I'd thought I would be by this trip. I had hoped that he would get the confessing out of the way, but so far, he seemed pretty hell-bent on keeping his secrets.

While he showered I dried and styled my hair. I located the dress that had been mysteriously delivered to my house the morning after the fight with Maryann, and stepped into it. I was just about to zipper up the side when I noticed Bill stepping out of the shower. There were angry red marks on his biceps, and I was instantly concerned. Something had happened to him, but I had no idea what.

"Bill, your arms." I said once he had a towel wrapped around him.

He looked down and said, "It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing." I moved closer to him to inspect the marks a little more closely. "What happened to you?"

He was reluctant to tell me. "Punishment." He finally admitted.

"Punishment? Punishment for what?" I looked up into his eyes, touching the marks on his arms gently. Then I remembered the marks that had been on my own arms. "_Eric_ did this to you?"

"Technically, Pam did it, but it was on Eric's orders." Bill explained.

I could only imagine the perverse thrill Pam had gotten from being the one to inflict pain on Bill. "Oh Bill, I am so sorry." Even if he'd had it coming, by vampire law, I knew it must have hurt.

"Do not apologize, Sookie. I was wrong to hurt you. If I could take that back, I would."

"I know you didn't mean it." I kissed his arm, and there was an instant response to the feeling of my warm lips on his cool body.

When I looked up at Bill, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I felt his fangs against my own teeth, and after a minute, I pulled back. He wanted to devour me in every way imaginable, and there was a part of me that wanted him to. He picked me up and put me on the counter beside the large sink. He stood between my parted knees, and kissed me again while searching for the zipper on my dress. When he couldn't find it on his own, he gave up. His hands were on my thighs, but pulling my skirt up.

"Bill, wait." I stopped him all of a sudden. "We can't. Well, I can't." My hands were pressed firmly against his chest.

His fangs clicked back in, and he looked at me like I had just sharpened a stake in front of him or something. "Sookie, I-"

"I think there are too many things up in the air right now, Bill." I said quietly.

"Fine." He said, and that was the end of it.

* * *

The restaurant Bill took me to was lovely. Since it was the end of summer, the leaves were just starting to turn in Vermont. The maple trees looked like they were on fire, even in the moonlight. It would be another couple of weeks, or maybe a month, before we saw anything like that in Bon Temps. This was the farthest north I had ever been in my whole life, but it wasn't so different from Louisiana in a lot of ways. I could see why Bill had liked it so much when he'd been here almost a century and a half before.

The restaurant was quiet, but I didn't mind that. We had things to discuss, and I was actually okay with talking them over in a public place because it would prevent either of us from getting too emotional or dramatic. We could talk without creating a big scene. We sat at a small table with a maple scented candle between us. I had ordered a glass of wine, and I was sipping it slowly while waiting for my dinner to arrive. For some reason, Bill enjoyed watching me eat when we went out on dates. It was almost like he was eating vicariously through me. Well, I guess, technically, that was precisely what he was doing. Generally speaking, we would end up back at his house after a date, and when he fed on me, he could taste all of the things I'd eaten earlier on in the evening.

I contemplated ordering something with garlic to get the message across that he wouldn't be feeding on me that evening, but I decided that would be sending the wrong message if we were going to try to work things out. When the waitress brought my dessert, I nibbled at it. I could sense anxiety coming from Bill. So far, we hadn't talked much at dinner. He'd asked how the food was, and he'd told me a little about the time he'd spent in Vermont. It had been winter the last time he was here, and the conditions were pretty harsh. I didn't know if he was telling me this to gain my sympathies, or if he was just in the mood to share. He didn't talk about The War very often, but I couldn't blame him for that. If it hadn't been for The War, he never would have left his family. He never would have been stumbling through the woods, and into the trap Lorena set for him. He would have died a mortal death before the turn of the twentieth century. He really would be buried in that cemetery between our two houses. All that would be left him now was bones.

I was half way through my slice of cake when my fork hit something hard. I looked at Bill, and he was smiling at me. There was something devious about his smile, but it was almost childish. I pulled at my fork, and a piece of metal came up with my cake. I stared at it for a second, and then I noticed the sparkle to it. It was a ring.

"There's a ring in my cake." I looked at Bill, who was now full-on grinning.

There are a lot of ways to propose to a girl, and I had thought about what that moment in my life would be like many times, even if I didn't think it would ever actually happen to me. It's just what little girls do. We grow up dreaming about weddings and babies. For some of us, those dreams stop after our teenage years, while others continue to chase those things for the rest of their lives. I had mixed feelings on the topic. I hadn't given up on love, exactly, but I was sure that I would never have a normal relationship. If I wanted to marry someone, it would have to be a Supe of some sort, or another telepath. So far, the only other telepath I'd ever met was Barry back in Dallas, and I certainly wasn't interested in marrying him.

"Bill, why is there a ring in my cake?" I cleaned off the ring. _Wow_, I thought to myself when I saw the size of the stone set in it.

"I know that things haven't been perfect between us lately, Sookie, but I know we can fix it. I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened in Dallas, and even after that. You are human. You make mistakes."

I snickered at that. "And vampires don't?"

"That isn't what I meant." Bill's smile faded a bit. "I've been carrying that ring around for a while now, but I was searching for the right time to give it to you."

"And you think now is that time?" I stared down at the ring.

"I want you to know that I am committed to you, and to our relationship. For the first time in almost a hundred and fifty years, I feel something for someone that I never thought I would feel again. I love you, Sookie Stackhouse. Will you marry me?" Bill got down on one knee beside the table. He took the ring from me, and slipped it on my finger.

I stared down at the ring on my hand, and I have to admit, I liked the look of it there. It was a beautiful ring, and the shallow part of me was aching to accept just so I could keep the ring. But I knew that was a stupid reason to marry someone. Arlene was the kind of woman who married for jewelry. I wasn't. I had questions, and I needed answers before I could make a commitment like this to Bill.

"Why did you come back to Bon Temps, Bill?" I asked him suddenly, figuring now was as good a time as any to get that out in the open.

"You know why I came back." He didn't get up off his knee.

"No, I don't. I know what you told me, but that's not the truth. At least, not entirely. Why did you really come back?"

"Sookie, I-"

"You came back because you were ordered to, weren't you? You were told to plant yourself in my life, to gain my trust." I answered for him, trying to recall the exact words he'd used when he'd spoken to Eric.

Bill let go of my hand, and his eyes turned cold. "Did Eric tell you this?" His voice was steely. "Sookie, I wanted to tell you so many times..."

"So it's true? You came back because you were told to?"

"Yes, but if I had known what a wonderful person you were, I would have come back anyway. I could kill Eric for telling you this." Bill was furious.

"Eric didn't tell me." I took the ring off my finger.

"What? If he didn't tell you, then who did?" Bill was now furious and confused.

"You did. I heard you and Eric talking about it at Fangtasia the night you went to confront him. I was out in the hall, and I heard everything. You lied to me." The weight of it all fell on me at once. I as crushed and angered at the same time. "You have done nothing _but_ lie to me since the moment we met. I gave you my heart, Bill Compton. I gave you my body. I gave you my trust and my loyalty. I risked my life for you. I got involved with Eric _for you_. I could have died in Dallas. I could have gotten raped. Rene could have killed me. I have come so close to death so many times, and it was all for you. How am I supposed to feel about that knowing that it didn't mean anything to you?" So much for the restaurant preventing dramatic scenes.

"Sookie, when I first came to Bon Temps, it was because I had to. But then I got to know you, and I realized that I wanted to be in your world. If I had a choice-"

"Don't you dare." I grabbed my purse. "Don't you dare blame this on vampire politics, Bill. I loved you so much that if you would have asked me to, I probably would have done whatever you wanted. You could have told me the truth. It probably would have hurt, but at least I would know the real reasons. I don't know how you could ask me to marry you with a straight face. No, Bill, I will not marry you." I got up from the table.

"Sookie, please, don't go. Stay. Let's talk about this." He pleaded.

"There's nothing to talk about, Bill. There's nothing left to say but goodbye." I threw the ring back at him. "Do _not_ follow me." I said when he stood up. I stormed out of the restaurant. I didn't know where to go at first, but I ended up back at the hotel.

I packed up my things, knowing there was no way I could stay in Vermont. I wasn't going to marry Bill, and at that moment, I never wanted to see him again for as long as I lived. I just wanted to get back to Bon Temps, and start the arduous process of forgetting him. I wanted to remove all traces of him from my life, and my memory. I took off the dress that I had assumed was a gift from Bill, but then I remembered he hadn't commented on the dress. He hadn't asked if I liked it, or if it fit.

Then, for some reason, my mind rewound to the night after I was attacked by the maenad. Since my other clothes had been ruined by Maryann's claws, Bill had dressed me in a bright red Fangtasia t-shirt. It was the same shade of red as my dress, and suddenly, it was clear to me who the sender had been. How it had escaped me for so long, I don't know.

"Eric." I whispered. I stood there in my underwear for a second before pulling the dress back on. I was going home to Louisiana, but I wasn't going back to Bon Temps.

* * *

**Okay, we're getting closer to the good stuff. I'll be posting at least one more chapter tonight unless the twitter girls sweet talk me into posting more lol**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	12. A Case of You

Chapter Twelve: A Case Of You

Unfortunately I had to spend the night in the airport. There was a flight to New Orleans at five in the morning but then I would have to drive back home, and that would take a few hours. It just made more sense to wait until ten to catch the flight going to Shreveport. So, I found a place to sit and I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I fell asleep with my feet propped up on my carry-on bag. The sound of someone calling my name woke me up, but when my eyes opened, I didn't see anyone near me. I looked around, completely confused. Then on the overhead system I heard my flight being announced. I got up, and headed toward my terminal.

I slept most of the way back to Shreveport. Once I was back in Louisiana I got in a cab, and had it take me to Fangtasia. I had a few hours to kill before sundown, but I didn't see much point in renting a car to take me back to Bon Temps. I needed to talk to Eric. I had a few things I wanted to say to him, but I also needed to know why Lafayette was covering for him. I knew Lafayette had lied to me when I'd asked, I just didn't know why.

I knocked on the employee entrance at the bar, and Ginger came to the door. She was dressed like she usually was in tight shorts and a shirt that was probably two sizes too small. Her hair was all done up and her makeup was on. She was ready for another long night at Fangtasia. There were scars on her neck from where various vamps had bitten her. If she hadn't been glamoured so many times, I might be able to tell if Eric was one of those vamps, but as it was, Ginger's head was a swamp full of black holes. It really did amaze me that she was even able to function on a human level anymore.

"Heya, Sookie." She said nervously. "Master Eric's not here yet." It always made my stomach turn a little when she referring to Eric as her master. Ick.

"I know." I shifted my suitcases. "I was hoping I could come in and wait for him?"

"Gee, I don't know if that's such a good idea. He's not real fond of visitors waiting for him." Ginger told me.

"That makes sense." I nodded, and shifted my suitcase again. "It's just...well...I really need to see him right away, and I'm sort of stuck here."

Ginger fettered for a second, trying to way the consequences of letting me into the bar. Finally, she took pity on me. "Oh alright, but just this once."

"Thank you." I smiled at her, and she opened the door wide enough for me to walk in.

"Where you coming from that you're stuck here?" She asked once the door was locked behind us.

"Vermont."

"Vermont? What the fuck were you doing in Vermont?"

"It's a long story." I sighed, hoping she would get the hint that I didn't want to talk about it, but Ginger's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Well I ain't got nothing but time." She took a seat at the bar, and motioned for me to come sit next to her.

I realize this is going to sound crazy, but maybe Ginger was the impartial observer I'd been needing. Of course she was loyal to Eric, but at the same time, she had no reason to want him to attach himself to me. If anything, she was hoping that he'd one day realize that _she_ was the right human for him to settle down with. Yet, I could tell that if I steeped my conversation in enough metaphor I could easily get an honest opinion out of her. Like I said, she wasn't all that bright.

So, I launched into my story as best I could, hoping to get some sort of advice from her. "Having two vamps fight over doesn't sound like your problem." She told me.

"How do you figure?"

"Well, you said one of the vamps was significantly older, right? Well, that gives him the ability to take you if he wants to. I don't get how it works, exactly." She waved that part off. "But that's not the point. You aren't like the rest of us, Sookie. You can't be glamoured into choosing, so you're going to have to do it the old fashioned way, and listen to your heart. Sounds to me like the vamp you're runnin' from isn't one you can trust. I know most people would say it's foolish for a human to trust a vamp, but a human can betray you just as easy. Sounds to me like you already know what you want. You're just afraid to say it."

"Maybe you're right." I looked down at my lap.

She got up to get back to work, but she stopped. "By the way, I know I've seen that dress before. It looks real good on you, Sookie. Eric has good taste, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does." I nodded, and Ginger winked at me before getting back to work.

Ginger had horrible eating habits, and she attributed that to working for vampires for so long. She often forgot to eat, and she told me she'd lost a pretty good amount of weight since she'd started at Fangtasia. It was an unexpected job perk, to her way of thinking. But she kept food around the bar. So, just before sundown she made me a peanut butter sandwich. I was still licking the peanut butter off the roof of my mouth when Eric sauntered into the bar. He was dressed in blue jeans and another black tank top. I guessed he wasn't working the floor that night. He didn't seem surprised to see me sitting at the bar waiting for him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Vermont." He gestured for me to follow him back to his office.

I picked up my bags, and walked toward his office. He held the door open for me, and then walked behind me to his office. Pam was already at his desk, going over something on his computer. She didn't even look up when she talked to me. "Hello Sookie. Or should I call you Mrs. Compton?"

"Det ska göra, Pam. Vänligen påminna Ginger i vår politik om människor i baren under dagen." _That'll do, Pam. Please go remind Ginger of our policy about humans in the bar during the day._ Eric motioned for Pam to get up out of his chair.

Pam looked at me and said, "Jag ser inte en ring på fingret. Det kan finnas hopp för dig ännu." _I don't see a ring on her finger. There might be hope for you yet._

"Du är på min sista nerv redan." _You are on my last nerve already._ Eric glared at Pam, who simply smiled.

"Lovely to have you back in Louisiana, Sookie." Pam smiled at me, and left the room to do whatever it was Eric had told her to do.

"So, what happened that you cut your trip so short?" Eric slouched in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin.

"Bill asked me to marry him." I told Eric, but his expression didn't change. "He asked me to marry him, and I said no."

"Interesting."

"Any idea why I might have said no?" I sat back on the couch and crossed my legs.

"Nice dress." Eric smiled at me.

"It was a gift."

"It looks lovely on you. It's your color." He continued to smile.

"So you've said before." I was in no mood to flirt with him. I needed answers, not compliments. "What did you do with Bill after I left that night?"

"You mean the night that he left those hideous bruises on your arms?"

"Of course."

"I can't really say, Sookie. It's a vampire matter."

I don't know why I bothered. "He told me he was punished. He said something about Pam wrapping silver around his arms to mimic my bruises. He said it was on your orders." I said dully.

"Bill should learn when to keep his mouth shut." Eric practically snapped at me. "And he thinks _I_ am the manipulative one."

"Did you have him bound in silver?" I asked Eric point blank.

"It is my right, as Sheriff, to discipline the other vampires in my area when they violate our laws. What he did to you, dear Sookie, would be considered domestic abuse by human standards. In the old days, vampires would not have blinked an eye over a few bruises left on a human, but it is different now that our kind is public. We must conform to human laws. Unfortunately, human punishment has yet to catch up with vampire ways." Eric explained to me.

"So then you did it?"

"Yes, I did. And considering the fact that he also attacked me, I think he got off rather easily." Eric wasn't going to apologize for his actions, but I knew better than to expect something like that. "So why are you here, Sookie?"

"The last time I was here I overheard most of your conversation with Bill. I know why he came back to Bon Temps." I hated to say it out loud because I was afraid Eric was going to gloat over it. That was the last thing I needed. He'd been trying to talk me away from Bill from the start.

"Then you know I had nothing to do with it, nor did I know the truth of it myself."

"I know. You knew I was there in the hall that night, didn't you?" I glared at Eric. Leave it to Eric Northman to be concerned with himself at a time like this. It was a cold slap in the face, to be honest. No matter what, Eric's number one priority would always be Eric. "I couldn't agree to marry him, knowing that our entire relationship was built on a lie."

"You don't think he genuinely loved you at any point?" Eric was curious. Frankly, so was I. I didn't know what to think.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "But even if he did, I don't know how I could ever trust him again."

"Someone who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken." Eric told me, but that didn't make me feel any better.

"Eric something has been bugging me since the night Maryann died." I leaned forward on the couch, and propped my elbows on my knees. "When Lafayette was still possessed by Maryann, he said something about having the blood of a thousand year old vampire in his body. Did you heal him after he was shot?"

"Why would I do such a thing?" Eric leaned back in his chair.

"You tell me." I challenged.

"Yes, I healed him." Eric started, and sat forward. "I cannot tell you the reasons why, other than it was a direct order. Did you know that he asked me to turn him?"

"Why didn't you?" I was surprised by this, but I was a little more surprised that Eric hadn't done it. Not to mention, I got the feeling that he didn't want to answer the question.

"Because I do not wish to have him under my wing." Eric answered simply, but I knew there was far more to it than that.

"But now you can track him." I pointed out.

"Yes, I can track him." Eric agreed.

"Have you had his blood as well?" I asked, trying not to feel any jealousy about this.

"I have," He gave me a blank look, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't be jealous, lover. It is not a reflection of my feelings for you." He said.

"I thought you didn't have feelings?" I loved to throw that into conversation as much as I could. He was the one to have said it, and I planned to use it against him every chance I got. "The last time I saw you, you told me you wanted the truth. What did you mean by that?"

The phone rang, and Eric glanced down to see who was calling. He held up a finger to me, and picked up the phone. He turned so he was facing the wall, and he was whispering in another language. I assumed he was talking to Pam, but I had no way of knowing for sure. He was on the phone for a few minutes with the conversation growing more and more intense by the second. Finally he practically shouted into the phone, and then hung up. He continued to stay facing the wall for a minute before launching himself out of his chair.

"I'll drive you back to Bon Temps." Eric announced, and picked up my suitcase. He was done talking to me, and I was smart enough not to push him.

I had never ridden in Eric's car before, and I found out the hard way that trying to get into a Corvette in a dress without revealing parts that aren't meant to be public isn't easy. He got a bit of a show as I folded myself into the car. The seats were so low to the ground. The ride wasn't exactly smooth, and it was made worse by Eric's extreme case of lead foot. I bounced the whole way home with Eric glancing at me from time to time. The ride was mostly silent, but I had plenty to think about.

I wondered if Bill was still somewhere in Vermont, or if he would be flying back to Bon Temps this evening. I hadn't bothered to call him to tell him where I'd gone, nor had I left him a note in the hotel room. I had simply packed up and left. I was too angry to be concerned about any heartbreak he might be suffering at the moment. I may have cheated, but at least I had come clean. I had tried to tell him the truth about everything, but he didn't want to hear it. He just wanted to hear that Eric was evil, and had tricked me. He didn't want to believe that I could have made the decision on my own. I wasn't proud of myself, but I knew I had to own up to what I'd done. I would never learn from my mistakes if I didn't accept the consequences for them.

The lights were all off in the house, which I was happy to see. Although, I don't suppose any intruders would walk in and make themselves at home. While I finagled my way out of the front seat, Eric retrieved my bag for me. I paused to look around, and noticed some scorch marks on the lemon tree. That tree was older than my Gran had been when she died, but it made me feel good to see it there. Even if it was damaged now, it would mend. You know you're in a tough spot in life when you can compare yourself to a lemon tree.

"Thank you for driving me home." I reached to take my bag from Eric.

"I should take a look inside, and make sure you're alone." Eric eyed the house suspiciously.

"If it'll make you feel better." I agreed because I got the feeling he was just looking for a reason to stay. If I was being honest, I didn't want him to leave. But I knew if I asked him to stick around, he would find a reason to go. It was schoolyard psychology, but it worked like a charm.

I unlocked the front door, and stood back while Eric started into the house. He did a quick sweep of the place before calling to me from the living room. "It's all clear!"

_Yeah, I knew that already_, I said to myself. I smiled at my feet, and then went inside. I set my bag down by the hall that led to the kitchen so I could wash the clothes I'd taken with me to Vermont. I hadn't worn most of them, but I wanted to be sure to rid them of any traces of Bill. My sense of smell was heightened, thanks to Eric's blood, and I didn't want to have Bill wrapped around me. Just the thought of it made me nauseous and sad.

"So, how did Bill propose to you?" Eric asked, which caught me off guard.

"Do you really want to know, or are you just trying to be polite?" I sat down on the steps that led to the second floor of the house.

"Both." Eric managed to squeeze in beside me on the steps.

"He had someone at the restaurant hide the ring on my cake." I told Eric, who had to work very hard to suppress a smile.

"If things hadn't happened with us, do you think you might have said yes?" Eric asked me.

"I don't know." I shrugged, and rubbed my forehead. I was suddenly exhausted. "When I first found out that he had lied to me about why he came back here...I was crushed, to say the least. I was so angry and hurt by it. I felt like a fool for not seeing it sooner. But then...then the more I thought about it, I realized that it was the best thing that ever could have happened to me." I confessed, and looked to Eric.

Eric's face was expressionless, but he reached out to tuck my hair back. "I did not mean to hurt you, Sookie."

"I know. You were trying to save me from making a mistake. I appreciate it." I laced my fingers through his. He picked up our hands, and kissed the back of mine. "Thank you for the dress. It's beautiful." I whispered, and he responded by kissing my hand again.

Then the pull of his blood hit me full force. I couldn't have stood up to walk him out at that moment even if I wanted to. My legs were all rubbery, and I knew what he was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. He released my hand, and kissed my palm, his lips gliding up to the pulse point in my wrist for a few seconds before moving up the inside of my arm. My breath caught in my throat, and I looked him deep in his pretty blue eyes for a second before I leaned in and kissed him. I think it took him by surprise that I was the one to make the first move, but he certainly didn't fight me on it. Well, at least not at first.

I was just about to reposition myself so I was sitting in his lap, when he pulled his mouth away from mine, and stopped me from getting up. "I will not share you with Bill any longer, Sookie." He announced.

"I'm not asking you to." I sort of scoffed at what he'd said.

"So you are finished with Bill?" Eric asked, and I realized then and there that he was going to need some sort of confession of feeling. I couldn't really blame him. I'd made a point of saying I wanted the same thing, hadn't I?

"I guess that depends." I smoothed out my skirt a little.

"On what?" Eric tried not to sound too interested.

"On you." I looked over him, but didn't turn my head.

"What do you require of me?" It was interesting the way he phrased his question. He didn't ask what I _wanted_ from him, he wanted to know what I _required_. No one had ever asked me that before.

I took a few seconds to consider my answer before saying, "Honesty."

"Is that all?" Eric's face didn't change at all.

"I want you to be yourself, Eric, but I want you to be honest. If you want something from me, ask me for it. Don't trick me like you did in Dallas. And I want you to accept it if I say no to something. You have your agenda and your plans and your reasons, but I may not want to go along with it. It doesn't mean I don't care about you. I don't like being tricked or deceived, and both you and Bill have done that to me. Bill's deception has caused me more pain than yours did, but it's all deception nonetheless. I want something honest, something pure." I explained to him. "It doesn't sound like too much to ask for from where I'm sitting, but if you can't do it, then I'd rather you just go back to Fangtasia and forget you ever met me."

"I understand." Eric nodded, and then kissed my forehead. He looked at me for a few seconds before getting up off the steps.

My heart sank, which surprised me. I probably should have expected he would go. Maybe Bill had been right about Eric all along, and I had just fooled myself into seeing something more because of the blood, and the good (okay, amazing) sex. I hung my head. I couldn't watch him walk out on me. I hadn't left Bill for him, I knew that much. I had left Bill because it was the right thing for me. Being with Eric would have been one hell of a reward for my decision, but if he wasn't able, or ready, to commit to what I was asking for I could understand that. Maybe it was just better if we cut our ties. The thing was, I would always be able to feel him, and that was the part of the whole thing that really sucked. I had this flash of myself as an old woman playing with Grandchildren, when all of a sudden I feel this horrible pain in the pit of my stomach, and I know that somehow, somewhere, someone has managed to kill Eric for good. How would I explain my grief over that to people who have never met Eric? I didn't want to think about it.

I heard the door close, and I started to sob quietly. This isn't at all the ending I had been expecting, but I suppose it's exactly what I deserved. Instead of taking Pam's advice and being honest about my feelings for Eric, I stupidly gotten on the plane with Bill. I should have just confronted him immediately with what I knew. In that moment, I didn't know why I hadn't. The best I can think is that I was somehow hoping he would confess, and tell me that it was all a big mistake. He would be honest, and he would tell me the whole story of how we'd come to know one another. I would realize it wasn't his fault, and that he'd been put in an impossible decision. On the most basic of levels, I knew he couldn't refuse a mission from the queen. What I couldn't understand is why he wouldn't just tell me the truth? Did he really think that I would turn on him, or try to have him killed? I just didn't understand it, and I don't think I ever will.

I kept waiting to hear the rumble of Eric's car starting in front of my house. Eric is built for stealth. The Corvette, not so much. I wiped at my eyes, and was surprised to see Eric standing by the door. He had never left. I stood up slowly, and when he moved closer to me again, we were standing eye to eye. He reached up and touched my face, wiping away my tears with the pads of his large thumbs. I tried to control my breathing a little better, but I had gotten pretty upset pretty quickly.

"Why are you crying, lover?" He asked me.

"I thought you left." I admitted.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised me, and his fangs ran out. "That is a beautiful dress." He looked down at it with this strange expression on his face. "I think I will enjoy tearing it off of you."

_Ohmylord_, I thought to myself, and was caught a little off my guard when he kissed me. For someone who claims to not have the ability to feel, I have met fewer individuals who are more passionate than Eric. He hadn't been kidding about tearing the dress away either. He started with the hem of the skirt, tearing it up the front so I couldn't possibly repair it. One minute I was lost in his kiss, and the second, I heard the unmistakable sound of fabric being torn. The sound made me jump a little. If what he was doing to the dress was any indication of what he planned on doing with me, I was in big trouble, but in a good way. He paused for a moment when he reached the waistline of the dress, and looked down at my tan legs. He let go of the left side of my skirt, and his hand slipped between my thighs, feeling for the pulsing of the artery there. The cool feeling on what was rapidly becoming very warm flesh was a welcome one.

He feathered light kisses along my collarbone before resuming his work on the dress. He bent so that his lips grazed just below my navel, and I felt a rush of heat in my cheeks. He kissed his way up as he tore the dress. Before long the dress was falling around me on the steps, and his lips were back on mine. I started to tug at the tank top he was wearing, but then I recalled the extra strength I had on account of his blood, and decided what was good for the goose was good for the gander. So, before I could second guess myself, I started tearing his shirt. The kiss broke, and he looked down to see what I was doing before looking me in the eyes. He was amused by my mirrored action, and there was something challenging in his eyes. If Eric was looking for someone who could hold their own against him, I think he was at least appreciative of my attempt to try.

Once his shirt was discarded on the floor beside my once worn dress, all bets were off. He went back to kissing my neck, shoulders and the tops of my breasts while reaching around to unhook my bra. He seemed especially fixated on the top of my left breast where he could feel my pulse the strongest. As if our blood bond wasn't enough to tell him how I was feeling, he was following along with my heart rate. Soon enough the red satin bra was on the floor with the other articles of clothing we had each removed. He picked me up with his arms just under my rear end so that my chest was eye level with him. When I tilted my head forward, my hair grazed his shoulders, and I swear I felt him shiver just a little bit. He certainly growled his appreciation.

The trip to my bedroom was a quick one. It seemed I was in the entry way of my house one minute, and flat on my back in the comforts of my own bed the next. Eric's body was on top of mine, still kissing me while his hand disappeared into my panties. I felt my lower half not only coming to life, but squirming under him. My hips were raising to meet his fingers, and I was breathing hard against his neck. His fangs were grazing against my collarbone, and I knew he was about out of self-control. I unbuttoned his jeans, and began to push them off his hips while he was tearing off my panties. (Do you have any idea how rich I'd be if I got a dollar for every pair of panties that was ruined by a vampire? Holy moly.)

His jeans hadn't even hit the floor when he was positioning himself between my legs, pushing them where he wanted them by grabbing the heels of my red shoes (the ones I referred to as my 'fuck me' shoes, funnily enough). He arranged me so that my thighs were on top of his, and my back was angled up from my bed. My legs just sort of dangled, and I felt most of my body weight in my shoulders. I looked at him with anticipation in my eyes. The tips of my fingers grazed his navel before my hands sank lower between us. He let out another growl when my hands found what they were search for, and his eyes closed.

"Look at me, Eric." I whispered, and then guided him into me. My heart was just about to beat its way out of my chest. Never in my life had I ever wanted someone more than I wanted Eric in that moment. After just a few seconds of assessment, I realized that it wasn't want I was feeling- it was _need_. I'd never felt that with Bill before. I'd wanted him, but I had never _needed_ him, and I found it was a powerful emotion.

Much to my surprise, the rhythm Eric found was slow and steady, at first, but it didn't stay that way. As more and more of our nerves came to life, all of them wanting to be included in the party, the more he moved in a deliciously frenzied way. Before long, I was sitting up in his lap with my arms wrapped around his shoulders. His hands cradled my behind, while his fangs found their perfect landing space in the crook of my neck. I felt an added rush of pleasure deep in my body when he bit me, and everything in my body locked up for a second. I responded by biting his neck in return, but not hard enough to break the skin. It was just hard enough for him to notice, and it added to his frenzy. He thrust into me a little harder after that, and it wasn't long before I was whimpering against him. I wasn't in pain, although you might not think so if you'd heard me.

His right arm held me around my waist while his left hand moved up to angle my head the way he wanted it, and he kissed me again. The longest kiss of my life broke, and my body was shaking on top of his, my voice squeaking out in gasps and moans. He held my head in place so I had no choice but to look at him when the orgasm shook my body, and I think that only made it more powerful. There was such intensity in his eyes, and I could feel absolutely _everything_ he was feeling. We were too connected at the moment. The fact that I was a telepath didn't matter, at the moment. I wouldn't have needed it if he were a human. It was all right there in his face. If I had ever doubted his feelings for me in the past, I didn't anymore. He practically roared when he finished, and it sort of freaked me out a little bit that I caused such a powerful reaction from him.

"You know, it's too bad you tore that dress up. I think you were probably right about it being my color." I whispered to Eric, my fingers gently combing through his hair.

"Then expect another one tomorrow." Eric's voice sounded dreamy. His eyes were all starry, and if it's possible, Eric actually seemed dazed by what had just happened.

I don't know how long we stayed tangled in each other the way we were, but by the time I stretched out on my side, my legs were numb. My whole body felt like it was made of Jell-o. Eric stretched out next to me, and laced his fingers with mine so that the back of my hand was once again pressed against his cool lips. We didn't talk much after that, and the last thing I remember is him cuddling me closer to him before my eyes closed for the night.

* * *

**Yay for Sookie finally stepping up some. There's more to work out, of course, but they're on their way. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Love You More

Chapter Thirteen: Love You More

The birds chirping in the trees outside were what woke me. It was a warning that the sun would be coming up relatively soon. Cool fingers traced lines and shapes on my shoulder blades, and I turned my head as far as I could to see Eric still laying behind me. He was wearing his jeans again, which was an indication he would be leaving shortly. I didn't want him to leave, but there wasn't much room for debate about it. I had nowhere to stash him for the day, and I knew that if anyone showed up at my house, there would be questions about the Corvette parked out front. I wasn't prepared to answer questions so soon. There was more than enough time for that later. Eric's large hand moved around to my stomach, and pulled me closer to him, which made rolling over pretty difficult.

"Good morning, lover." He whispered in my ear.

"I wish you could stay." I put my hand on his.

"So do I." He kissed my earlobe before moving to my neck.

"I don't have to be back at work until Wednesday." I turned over so we were face to face. "Will I see you again before that?"

"I have to be at the bar this evening, but you are welcome to come if you'd like." He offered, and then kissed me again.

I didn't know what I was going to do with myself for the remainder of the day. I supposed I would start by boxing up the things Bill had left around my house. The least I could do was drop the box off at his house, along with his key. I wouldn't be needing it anymore. Besides, it just seemed weird to be holding onto one man's property when another man was sharing my bed.

"I think that could be arranged." I smiled at Eric, and then noticed that the sky was starting to light just the littlest bit. It was now a deep shade of purple, where it had been black just a few seconds before. "You better go." I pointed to the window.

"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." He looked slightly regretful for having to go, but it couldn't be helped.

"I'm glad you woke me up." I smiled, and kissed him once more before following him out of bed to the front door. My torn up dress was still on the steps, along with Eric's torn up tank top. Well, they'd make beautiful rags. "If something comes up, and I can't make it to the bar tonight, I'll call you." I promised him.

"You'll be there." He said as if he couldn't imagine any circumstances that would come up to prevent it from happening. Frankly, I couldn't either. He touched my cheek softly, and lowered himself to me for one more kiss.

"Sleep well." I waved from the doorway once he was outside.

I watched him fold himself into the car, and I jumped a little when the car rumbled into life. It roared down the driveway, and I waved to him until the car was out of sight. Then I closed the door, and headed back to bed. I was happier than I had been in a very long time, but I was also pretty tired. Eric had kept me up for most of the night, and I had gotten out of the habit of being up so late, since things were so rocky with Bill for a while. I wondered how long it would be before my thoughts didn't somehow circle back to Bill. Maybe he would always own a piece of my conscious. Isn't that what a first love does?

I stopped in the bathroom for a moment, and then decided it was probably better for me to get the torn up clothes off the steps in the entry way, just on the chance that Tara or Jason stopped by. He didn't do it often, but from time to time Jason would run by here in the morning on the chance that I had made enough breakfast for two. We weren't real close the way some siblings are, but he _did_ appreciate a home cooked meal. I couldn't blame him much there. It wasn't a whole lot of fun cooking for one person, so most of the meals I made tended to be relatively simple ones, unless I had a hankering to eat the same meal for a few days.

I went back to sleep for a few hours, until I heard an unfamiliar truck coming up my driveway. I looked out my bedroom window to see a Fed-Ex truck parked outside, and a few seconds later, I heard my doorbell. I scrambled out of bed, and yanked my robe off the back of my door. I was still tying it around me when I got to the front door. I didn't want the delivery guy to drive away. I wasn't expecting anything.

He was stunned for a moment by the flash of my tan thigh and a little more cleavage than I would normally expose to a stranger. "Package for Sookie Stackhouse?" The delivery man said in a breathy voice that I attributed to my nearly naked state, and he held out one of those little machines where you sign the screen.

I hate those things. My signature never looks right, and it's not all that pretty to begin with. "That's me." I signed my name.

"Here you go." He handed me a box that felt almost weightless.

"Thanks." I smiled, and then closed the door. He stood there for a minute after the door was closed, and I could hear his thoughts. I was tempted to open the door and tell him that my boobs were real, and he didn't have a chance with me. But I figured it was better to let it go, and a few seconds later, he was back in his truck.

I took the package to the dining room, and tried to open it. Whomever had sealed the box had used an awful lot of tape, and I get to get a knife from the kitchen to score through it all. Finally, I was able to pry open the flap on the side of the box. I hadn't heard anything ticking, so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be blown up. I reached into the box, and pulled out another box. The first thing I noticed was the Blackberry logo on it. I'd heard of those things, but I didn't really know what one was. I knew Eric had one. I opened that box to find that it was a phone, but also had a full keyboard on it that would allow me to send email and text messages. I'd never sent either of those things in my whole life. I might have been the last girl in Bon Temps _not_ to have an email address.

Inside the box was a charger for my house, as well as one for my car. There was also a note included telling me that his phone number was programmed into the phone (I'd never been given Eric's personal phone numbers before), and the first year of service had been paid for. I was stunned. I wasn't sure why he'd bought me a cell phone, and more than that, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it. It felt like I was being put on an electronic leash, and I didn't like that one bit. I liked being able to come and go as I pleased. I didn't mind checking in now and then, but I didn't like the feeling I needed someone's permission to go here or there. I liked to be able to just get up and go, no questions asked.

Still, I turned on the phone, and started going through the instructions on how to operate the it. It seemed a little too complicated for me. I was just about to get real frustrated, and throw the phone against the wall, when a second car pulled up in front of my house. _Now what?_, I said to myself. I opened the door before the stranger approaching me even had a chance to knock.

"Delivery for Sookie Stackhouse." The round little woman said to me.

"That's me." I smiled faintly, and when the woman looked at me oddly, I turned to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It was now early afternoon, and I was standing in the doorway of the house in my bathrobe with a tragic case of bedhead. I would look at me oddly too, I suppose.

The woman returned to my door a moment later with a dress bag in one hand, and a large shopping bag in the other. "Here you are, Miss Stackhouse."

"Thanks." I took the bags from her, and watched with unease as she waddled back to her car.

I closed the door once again, and took the bags back to the dining room where my new cell phone was waiting for me. I opened the dress bag first to find that Eric had stayed true to his word, and replaced the dress he'd destroyed the night before. I couldn't help but smile, since it really was a beautiful dress. I laid the dress over one of the high-backed chairs next to me, and then began to pull boxes from the shopping bag. The boxes weren't very big, but it was obvious to me that there was clothing inside. There was a half a dozen boxes to open. I opened them one by one, and when I was finished, I had twice the amount of lingerie as I'd had the day before.

I was slightly overwhelmed at the moment. I was wondering how Eric had had time to arrange for all of this, given that he'd left so late. Then again, he could have called the bar while I was asleep. I wasn't used to someone being so generous to me, and I worried that Eric was trying to buy me, or that he had somehow gotten in the impression that I was one of those girls who needed to be spoiled in order to return someone's affection. I didn't want to think that was the reasoning behind all of the gifts, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. I worried I was being buttered up for a big disappointment looming in my future.

I fiddled with the cell phone for a while longer before giving up. Eric was going to have to teach me how to use the damned thing, because I sure wasn't having much luck with the instruction book. I made myself something to eat, and then went about washing the brand new lingerie that was spread out on my dining room table. It was all too pretty and delicate to simply be tossed in the washing machine. By the time I was done with that, I had bras and panties hanging all over the place, and I tried to imagine what my brother's face would look like if he popped in for a visit this afternoon. Just the thought of it made me giggle quietly.

I went to the smaller bathroom that adjoined my bedroom, and took a long hot shower. I still had a few hours before sundown, and I was running out of things to do. I wasn't used to having so much time off all to myself. Up until I'd met Bill, I hadn't taken a vacation since right after high school when Tara and I drove to Baton Rouge for a few days. Even then, it wasn't much of a trip, and we'd had plenty to do. My trip to Dallas wasn't what I'd call a vacation, considering my abduction, attempted rape and then nearly being blown up.

After my shower I decided to paint my toe nails and spend a little more time than usual putting on my makeup and fixing my hair. I was more a wash 'n wear kind of girl, but I figured it might be nice to look a little prettier than usual when I went to go see Eric. While I liked the dress he'd sent, I'd just worn it the day before, so I couldn't very well wear it again. I looked through my closet to try and find one he hadn't seen me in before. I found one that was a buttery yellow, and a nice little sweater to wear over it. The bar had a tendency to be on the cool side, and if that's where I was going to be for most of the night, I might as well be comfortable.

I nearly forgot to put that phone in my purse before I left. I was just getting on the highway that would take me to Shreveport, when I heard it making a whole bunch of noise on the seat beside me. I had a text message waiting for me, but it only could have been from one person, since I hadn't given the number out to anyone else. I pushed a button to open the message, glancing up from the phone every other second to make sure I wasn't about to smash into someone else. I'd heard a bunch of stories on the news about the dangers of texting while driving, and I'd always thought of how stupid it was to be playing with a cell phone while driving. Now I was one of those people.

When I saw a bunch of brake lights ahead, I tossed the phone aside without reading the message. I wanted to read what Eric had to say, but making sure I got to Fangtasia alive was more important to me. I slowed down like everyone else, and tried to crane my neck to see what was holding up traffic so badly up ahead. Sirens were wailing behind me, and I could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles rapidly approaching. Whatever was ahead must have been pretty bad. It wasn't until they passed me, and the bright light of their headlights lit up the dusky sky enough for me to see all of the smoke.

"Oh my God." I whispered to myself, and covered my mouth.

Thick black smoke curled in the air, and immediately I imagined a raging car fire up ahead. I prayed that whoever the car belonged to had managed to escape before the fire started. If they hadn't I was pretty sure they were gone. There were more lights and sirens. My phone started to ring from the seat beside me. The sky was now dark. I reached for the phone without taking my eyes off the road ahead of me.

"Hello?" I answered numbly.

"The sun has set, and you are not here, lover." Eric's cool voice greeted me.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm stuck on the highway. Someone's car is on fire, and they've stopped traffic." I explained to him.

"How long will you be?" Eric asked as if I'd just told him I had stopped for gas. Leave it to Eric to glaze over the loss of a human life.

"You could sound a little more concerned, you know. It could just as easily be a vampire in the car." I reminded him, but he snorted at this. "I don't know how long I'm going to be. It depends on how long it takes to get the fire put out. Why? What's so important that you can't wait a little longer?"

"Did you read the message I sent you?" Eric asked me.

"No. I was driving when you sent it, and I was so wrapped up in the accident that I forgot." I admitted.

"Read the message, and you will know. See you soon, my lover." Eric said, and hung up the phone before I could say anything else.

I just stared at the phone for a second in utter disbelief. I tried to find where the text message had gone, but I had no clue how to work the phone. Eric would just have to tell me himself when he saw me. Finally, cars started to move ahead, so I started my own car again. No point in wasting gas if I didn't have to. It was far too expensive for that. Finally, my lane of cars was able to move, and I let off the brakes easily. We weren't going very fast at first. Everyone wanted to get a peek at what had happened before going on their way.

When I finally got to the accident site, I had to do a double take. I knew that car. I'd ridden in it many times. There was no ambulance nearby, but there was a coroner's van. I nearly pulled over to the side of the road, but what good was I going to do? My heart cracked, and tears flooded my eyes. I sobbed the rest of the way to Shreveport. I pounded on the door of the bar, since it wasn't open yet, and Eric let me in.

"Sookie, what's happened?" Eric asked with concern in his voice.

Whether it was appropriate of me or not, I hugged him. "The car that was on fire? It was Bill's. I think he's dead, Eric."

I'd had a lot of thoughts when it came to Bill Compton in the last couple of weeks. He'd hurt me pretty badly, and I wasn't real sorry that I had walked out on him in Vermont. I'd done what was right for me. We weren't in any kind of position to get married, and to tell the truth, even if we hadn't been having problems in our relationship I probably still wouldn't have said yes. I just wasn't ready to get married quite yet. Knowing what I know now, of course, I'm extra thankful I wasn't one of those silly girls who got all carried away and married a man just because he asked me to.

Eric had pulled me inside the bar, and brought me to his office. He sat me down on the couch, and I'd slumped over. He'd pulled a chair over so that he was sitting right in front of me, but I couldn't get myself together enough to stop crying. I couldn't even remember the remainder of my drive to Shreveport. I had no idea how I'd been able to get to Fangtasia in the state I was in. Somehow, I'd managed. Eric went in search of tissues for me, but came back with cocktail napkins from the bar, along with a glass of water.

I could tell my outpouring of emotion made him uncomfortable, so I did the best I could to put a lid on it. I dabbed at my watery eyes, and sipped at the cool water he'd brought me. "What makes you think Bill is dead?" Eric asked me once I was as close to normal as I was going to get for a while. In that moment, I was just thankful he didn't ask me why I was upset.

"It was his car that was on fire, Eric." I gasped, and felt a lump rise in my throat. I might not be Bill's biggest fan at the moment, but I hadn't wished death on him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure. I've been in that car dozens of times. The inside of it was burned pretty badly, but I saw the plate numbers." I told him.

Eric's face maintained its stony expression. I hadn't expected him to cry, but I was a little put off by his complete lack of reaction. "It doesn't mean he's dead, Sookie. Besides, shouldn't he still be in Vermont?"

"We were supposed to stay until Tuesday, but what's the point if you're there alone? He'd planned that entire trip around the assumption that we were going to be married." I reminded him. Bill might be a bit of masochist sometimes, but I was pretty sure that even he wouldn't stay in the honeymoon suite alone. But then, there were lots of things about Bill Compton that I didn't know. I was now certain I never would.

"Did you call the hotel in Vermont to find out if he'd checked out yet?" Eric asked me.

"No." I shook my head.

"Well, lets start there before we go jumping to conclusions." Eric insisted, and then went to his desk to make the phone call I knew I wouldn't have the strength to make myself.

I should have known something bad was going to happen. Just once, I would love it if something good could happen to me without immediately being ruined by something terrible, violent or tragic. I know life works on a balance to keep things on an even keel, but would it kill the universe to let me float a little higher on the happy side just once? I sipped more water, and let my brain fall open. I didn't even hear Ginger, but that wasn't saying much. Most humans wouldn't understand the appeal a vampire bar has for me. It's not the music, the drinks or the possibility of being someone's dinner, it's the quiet. Before the bar opens for the night, I can just let my head relax. I don't have to put up my shields, or worry that I'm going to hear something I don't want to hear. I can just let loose and be myself.

Eric spoke quietly, since the night manager of the hotel was a vampire, and could hear everything Eric said without Eric having to raise his voice above a whisper. I didn't like the idea of Eric being so secretive around me, but I chose to believe he was doing it to protect me from hearing something I wasn't ready to hear just yet. By the time Eric hung up, I was starting to feel anxious and a little on the jumpy side. Eric looked at me with a grim expression on his face.

"Bill checked out of the hotel shortly after sundown last night. He did not leave any forwarding information." Eric told me, and my eyes closed. My heart sank. I didn't want to marry Bill, but I didn't want him dead either. "Sookie, we can call Anubis, and see if he's gotten on a plane."

I pulled his gift to me from my purse, and dialed Bill's cell number. That one I knew by heart. "Bill, it's Sookie. Look, I um, I just saw your car on fire on the side of the highway, and I'm really hoping that you weren't in it. So I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now after what happened in Vermont, but if you're alive, could you please just call me and tell me that? Thanks." I hung up the phone. Who'd have thought the first call I'd make on a cell phone that Eric had given me would be to my ex?

Eric returned to his seat in front of me, and put his big hands on my knees. "I am sure there is nothing to worry about, Sookie. Bill is probably just off pouting somewhere over losing you."

"I hope you're right." His suggestion did little to make me feel any better.

"Thank you for the gifts." I sniffled. "If I wouldn't have worn that same dress last night, I would have worn it tonight."

He leaned forward, and kissed my forehead gently. "I hope you don't mind that I bought you the phone. I figured a girl who is in danger as often as you seem to be should have a way to call for help when you need it."

That actually made me laugh just a little, and it felt good. "You're sure it's not an electronic leash so you can keep tabs on me?" I looked up at him.

"Do I need to?" He asked in a tone that let me know he was not at all insecure in that sort of way.

"No, you don't." I put my hands on his. They were still a little on the shaky side, and he picked them up to kiss each one. "I do need a favor, though." I smiled at him as best I could.

"Anything, my lover." He kissed my hands again.

I rolled my head toward the phone and said, "Teach me how to use that damn thing?"

Eric laughed.

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**Last chapter you're getting tonight, but there'll be more tomorrow. Thank you for all of your reviews. I really do appreciate them even though I've slacked off on responses. I swear I read every single one. Thanks for reading *hugs***


	14. Walk On

For those who have asked, no, Jessica is not in this story. I started in the TB fandom but we're moving into the more SVM side of the story now and Jessica just doesn't fit anywhere. So rather than trying to include another character, I decided not to bring her into it at all.

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Chapter Fourteen: Walk On

Eric was very patient with me while he showed me how to use the phone. I felt so silly. Coby and Lisa probably could have figured it out in a tenth of the time it took Eric to show me, and I was still confused. I figured as long as I knew how to answer a call, check my messages and find a text message, I'd do just fine. Speaking of text messages, Eric explained to me that we could send each other pictures through our phones. I didn't think much of it, until he showed me what he'd sent me before. I'm quite certain I turned bright red when he showed me the screen. There was that familiar feeling of warmth rushing over me that I felt every time I saw Eric, and it was hitting me harder than usual at the moment. It was a delicious feeling, and I wondered then why I had ever tried to deny that I felt it since the minute I saw him.

"You took that picture yourself?" I tried not to sound too embarrassed, but no one had ever sent me a picture like that before.

"It wasn't so hard to do. I'll show you, if you'd like." He stood up, and began to remove his suit jacket.

"Don't you have to be out on the floor soon?" I asked anxiously, and looked to the door. I didn't see a lock on it, and the last thing I wanted was for one of the vampires (or worse, a jealous fangbanger) to walk in.

He completely ignored my question, and continued to remove his clothing. I sat on the couch like a nervous teenager. I don't know why I was feeling so shy around him all of a sudden. Considering how...frisky I'd been before, anyway. He wasn't wearing underwear that night, but that didn't surprise me. It had actually surprised me more when I'd seen him in it. I got the impression that if it were up to Eric, he'd walk around completely naked at all times. To be honest, I wouldn't mind that one bit. Although, I suppose I'd have one hell of a time concentrating on anything else if he did. He went behind his desk, and arranged himself in his big leather chair with his feet up on the corner of the desk. He then rose his arm, and angled the phone accordingly. The phone made a noise, and just like that, I had two naked pictures of Eric on my cell phone. What a difference a day makes.

I didn't know what to say after that, but I was pretty sure Eric wasn't all that interested in talking, and frankly, I was in need of a distraction to keep me from thinking about the car fire too much. There wasn't a whole lot I could do at the moment. Eric was so level-headed about the whole thing, and I tried not to read too much into that. Was his lack of panic because he'd had something to do with the car fire, or was it because he was just better suited to handle a crisis? I was angry at myself for even thinking that Eric could have been involved. He might not be Bill's biggest fan, but Eric had very specific feelings when it came to vampires killing vampires. He wouldn't have done that to Bill. He might have thought about it, but he wouldn't have actually done it.

"You should try this, lover. I'm sure you photograph beautifully." Eric's eyes sparkled.

"You want me to take naked pictures of myself?" I snickered and shook my head. "I don't think so." I knew Pam checked Eric's phone from time to time. I'd seen her answer it even, on a few occasions. No way did I want her rifling through it, and finding my picture on there. Nosirry, that was _not_ going to happen.

"But I'll tell you what I _will_ do." I stood up, and walked across the room. "You might want to put your feet down." I suggested, and waited to Eric to adjust himself. I hadn't counted on walking around the desk to find that he was not only naked in that chair, but completely ready for take off, so to speak. I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat, and started to rethink what I had originally planned.

"Is something wrong, lover?" Eric asked me, handing over my phone.

"No." I shook my head and instead, sat on the edge of his desk. I'd planned on sitting in his lap, but that wasn't going to happen now without causing at least one of us some discomfort.

I put the phone down on the desk beside me so he got the idea that playtime with the phone was over. The chair rolled forward, and he unbuttoned the two buttons on my sweater that I'd fastened. And then, out of nowhere, he stopped what he was doing, and he picked up the phone on his desk. He pushed a couple of buttons, and a few seconds later he was telling Pam quite clearly that he wasn't to be disturbed for any reason, and he would be out on the floor as soon as his schedule permitted. I could hear Pam snickering on her end of the line, but Eric hung up before she could sass him back the way she normally did.

"Sorry about that, lover." He gave me one of his most charming smiles.

"I like it when you call me that." I smiled down at him. Bill had never given me a pet name, but I had never minded that much. He might call me _sweetheart_ from time to time, but it wasn't something regular. At the time he'd said it, I was sure he meant it. Now I wasn't so sure. I wasn't so sure about a lot of things.

What I _did_ know for sure was that I had a vampire in front of me who hadn't eaten yet that evening, and he was eying me like I was the blue plate special over at Kippy's Diner. He looked at me like he wanted to devour me. He'd looked at me that way since the first night we met just a few feet away in the bar. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be in Eric's office, hoping that he'd shred another one of my dresses and have his way with me right there on his desk, I'd think they were crazy. Of course, life has come to show me that _it_I calls the shots. I'm just along for the ride. There'd been all sorts of crazy turns in the past year. Oddly enough, coupling up with Eric didn't even make the top ten list.

My sweater was gone, and the top half of my dress was only seconds away from pooling around my waist. He was undressing me rather slowly, but he had yet to touch me in any sort of suggestive way, and the only kiss I'd gotten from him was when I'd first arrived, and was completely hysterical. I couldn't take my eyes off his bottom lip, which might sound crazy, considering all of the other parts of him that were on display, but it was just begging to be bitten. I knew that if I did, I would start something that was only going to end one way, and just the thought of it sent chills up and down my spine.

I heard the sounds of the bar starting to come to life a few feet away. Music had been cranked up, and the fangbangers to helped sling drinks were making all sorts of noise. Eric didn't let any of that distract him from removing my clothes. I pushed myself up so that he could pull my dress down over my hips. It was a snug fit there, since it was designed to be stepped into, but he managed to do it without splitting the seam. I kept concentrating on his lip. The urge to bite it just overwhelmed me, and finally, I couldn't stop myself from doing it.

I grabbed his face and kissed him gently a few times. I looked him in the eyes, and then down at his lips again. I felt my breath catch, and I kissed him again, only this time, I bit his lip, tugging on it gently. Just that simple tug seemed to pull his entire body closer to mine, which caused an interesting sensation and fantastic pressure between my open legs. I gasped against his mouth. The rush of warm air on his face seemed to exhilarate him, and it earned me another nudge. Goosebumps broke out on my arms as the kisses grew deeper. I pulled back from him, and when I did, I licked one of his fangs. There was a quiet rumble in his chest. I could feel it vibrate against my hands, and he continued to thrust against me, somehow managing to hit the right spot without even having to remove my panties.

But eventually, those came off as well. Eric sat down in his chair again while I stepped out of them. I'd just barely been able to stop him from ripping them off. There was no way I was going the rest of the night without them, and I decided then and there that it would probably be a good idea if I carried a spare pair folded up tiny in one of the pockets of my purse. Sounds a little crazy, I know, but it beats going commando all night long in club where everyone, dead or alive, is thinking about sex. Eric held my hand by my fingertips in a very elegant sort of way as I climbed onto his lap. I was pretty sure this was what he'd had in mind when he'd sent that picture.

He let go of my hand, and grabbed my hips instead, lifting me easily. He was teasing me in an almost merciless fashion, but really, what else should I expect? I knew what he wanted. He wanted to hear me beg, and I knew this was his idea of punishment for not paying appropriate attention to his text message from earlier. Generally speaking, I would match Eric wit for wit. If he could go, then so could I. I might not be as strong or fast as him physically, but I could match him in plenty of other ways. My brain was ready to hold out, but my body was betraying me in big ways. He was rubbing up against nerve endings that demanded I pay attention to Eric. Hell, they were demanding I give him anything he wanted. But if he wanted to play dirty, I could too.

I caught his lips again, and this time, I made sure that one of his fangs nicked my lip. There was just the smallest amount of blood that was drawn, but it was enough. "You win, lover." Eric said in a rather breathless fashion, and lifted his hips to meet mine. In all reality, I think it was a win-win situation.

He stood once again, depositing me onto his desk. I laid back and let Eric arrange my legs any way he wanted them. My arms flew up over my head, and held on to the other edge of the desk above my head. I closed my eyes for just a moment, and I felt Eric picking up my legs. He pushed them together, and that created a whole new feeling I had never experienced before. It was already a snug fit, but it got a little tighter with my legs together, but I'm not complaining one bit. He kissed my ankles and the tops of my feet. I realized then that I still had my shoes on, but that didn't seem to bother Eric in the slightest.

He let go of my knees, in favor of finding my hands. My legs encircled his waist, pulling him deeper into me, as my fingers laced with his. My small hands were pressed against his, and I knew he could feel my pulse pounding through my body. As usual, my breath started to come faster and in little gasps, and I started to feel like I was losing all the control I had over my body. I didn't want the feeling to end, but I knew it couldn't last forever. And then we were back in the chair, and it rolled into the wall. If I were a few inches taller, my feet might have touched the ground. I rocked my hips back and forth while he went to work kissing my neck and running his cool fingertips up and down my sides, sending more shivers up my spine.

I had just started to see flashes of color behind my eyes when I felt his fangs scrape against my neck. I knew what was about to happen. "Do it." I whispered, and bit his ear before moaning louder than usual. Sharp fangs found just the right spot, and sank in deeply. I felt like every part of me was lighting up, and the sounds coming from Eric told me he could feel it all.

Feeling my own orgasm was intense enough, but I could feel his too. That was an unexpected attribute of the blood bond I shared with him, and I realized it was unique. I hadn't felt that with Bill. Ever. I felt completely drained. Figuring it was the least I could do, I grabbed my phone off the desk behind us, and I handed it to Eric.

"You get one. Better make it good." I told him.

I wasn't at all expecting it when he simply pressed his lips against mine, making sure that my chest was pressed against his. I heard the phone make that same noise it had before. When he showed me the picture, I was relieved to see that the most he'd get out of that was the curve of my back, and the side of my right breast. It almost looked like an art photo. I could live with that.

"You do good work, Eric." I smiled at him.

"Was there ever any doubt, my lover?" He responded with a slight arrogance, but I was too blissed out to chastise him for it.

Unfortunately, Eric had to get back to work. He asked me to stick around for a while, and told me I could come sit out in the bar with him if I wanted to. Frankly, I didn't want to be the center of attention, and I really didn't want to deal with all of the cooky brains of the fangbangers that I knew were out there. They all wanted a piece of Eric, and it made me sad that they wouldn't ever realize he just wasn't interested. But, I guess if they didn't keep coming back, Eric wouldn't be quite as successful as he was. I knew he flirted with some of them. That was part of the gig. I knew he didn't mean a word of the things he said, and mostly, he sat up in his big black chair looking bored out of his skull. He hadn't been gone more than two minutes when another text message came rolling in. I hadn't even gotten completely dressed yet.

I opened the message, and I couldn't help but blush and smile. "I can taste every part of you." I read out loud, and I wondered if he was expecting a response to that. I imagined he probably was, but Eric was much better with words than I was, unless I was upset. He had a very smooth way of speaking. Unless, of course, we were talking about feelings. Then he clammed up nice and tight.

I debated over what to say, and I decided the better way to answer him was to zip up my dress, and head out to the bar. Pam caught me in the hallway. "I know that smell." She sniffed the air, although she didn't really have to.

"How are you this evening, Pam?" I asked her since I hadn't seen her yet.

"Not as good as some, but better than others." She said in a casual tone. I didn't think that was a dig at me, but with Pam, one can never really know for sure. Generally she was a pretty straight shooter, and wasn't afraid to let you know if she despised you. It seemed she'd warmed up to me some lately, but I assume that had a lot to do with my change in situations. "So, I heard that Bill might have met his final death."

I had completely forgotten, if you can believe that. I had somehow managed to completely forget about the horrible accident I had passed on my way to Shreveport, but it all came rushing back to me. For a second, I could have sworn I smelled the acrid smoke from the fire wafting up my nose. I sort of tranced out on Pam, and I had to literally shake myself out of it. She was staring at me, waiting for an answer, but my silence and strange behavior was answer enough for her. She managed to keep from smiling, which I appreciated. Pam and Bill rarely saw eye to eye on anything. Just about the only thing they had agreed on, at least until recently, was that Eric should stay away from me.

"I don't know. I saw his car on fire on the way here, and the coroner had been called out, but I didn't see a body." I looked to the floor.

"Well, you wouldn't if a vampire was inside. We don't preserve well after our final death." Pam explained to me as if I'd never been present at the death of a vampire before. "But then, you already know that." There was the smile I had been dreading. It was risky of her to make a joke of such things when her Maker's Maker had just recently met the sun.

I was pretty sure Eric was still smarting over that loss, but he wasn't one for deep conversations about such things. When he told me it was a bond I couldn't possibly understand, I knew he was right. They had done things together that I would never do with Eric. In some ways, that made me a little jealous. Mostly I wondered what Eric was like when he was alive. Godric had told me a little, but not nearly as much as I would have liked to know. I was pretty sure I could ask Eric to tell me until I was blue in the face, and he wouldn't tell me much of anything. He might blame it on a faulty memory, but I knew that wasn't the case. If he didn't remember, it was because he didn't want to.

"If there's anything I can do to help, you'll let me know?" Pam was attempting to be helpful? This was definitely new.

"If I don't, I'm sure Eric will." I shrugged.

I wasn't about to involve Pam in this without Eric's say so. First of all, I didn't know what Pam could possibly do that Eric hadn't already put on his list of things to try. Second of all, I knew he wouldn't appreciate me going over his head. Not only was Eric the sheriff of this area, but I'm a human. Not to mention, Pam is also his child. If she was going to take orders from anyone, it should be Eric. I could just see the look on Eric's face when he asked where Pam had gone, and I told him I sent her out on an errand. Ha!

"He seems happy, Sookie. I suppose that has something to do with you." Pam looked me up and down.

"You would have to ask him that." I told her, but we both smiled at the notion of it.

"I would rather offer my hand to an alligator." Pam said dully, and it made me chuckle. Pam could be funny when she wanted to, but she preferred to be mean. Sometimes I hated her for it, but mostly, I have to admit, I admired her.

"You know Eric's lucky to have you?" I looked up at her. With the heels she was wearing, Pam was quite tall. In general, I would describe Pam as being statuesque, but that only increased when she wore heels. Me? I hated heels. If I didn't like dresses so much, you'd probably never see me in anything but flip-flops and sneakers.

"How do you mean?" Pam knew precisely what I meant, but she was fishing for compliments.

"There's lots of reasons, as far as I can tell, but mostly, you're a good friend to him." I told her the truth as I saw it. "I didn't tell him about the visit you made to Bon Temps."

"I know, and I appreciate it." She softened just a little. "He doesn't like for me to interfere in his personal relationships."

"So you've said."

"Frankly, I don't usually bother. It isn't really any of my business, except this time, that business was taking it's toll on _our_ business, and what kind of Second would I be if I let it all fall apart?" She was trying to rationalize it, as if she had to explain it to me. She didn't, of course. I was on her side.

"I don't plan to tell him you were there." I told her. She nodded, and walked away. Apparently, the conversation was over. Although why Pam thought I would suddenly rat her out to Eric, I wasn't sure. Generally speaking, when I made a promise, I bent over backwards to keep it.

I decided I would try Bill's place one more time before going out to the main area of the bar. I got his machine again, and I left another message. "Bill, it's Sookie. Listen, I know you really don't owe me anything after the way I walked out on you, but just try and put yourself in my shoes for a minute, okay? I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for it, but at least I told the truth. I know I lied to you, and I know I broke a pretty big rule in relationships, but..." I trailed off for a second before remembering I was leaving a message, and therefore, running out of time. "Look, if you could please just put all that aside and let me know that you got back from Vermont alright, I would really appreciate it." I gave him my new cellular number, and then hung up the phone.

I figured I'd try my home answering machine to see if he'd called there, and realized I probably should have called there first as I was dialing the numbers to check in. I had three messages. The first was from Tara, telling me she wanted to stop by on Thursday to pick up most of her stuff. She and Eggs had signed a lease with Sam, and would be living in Dawn's old house together. The second message was from Sam, asking me if I wouldn't mind working the last shift instead of lunch on Wednesday because Holly's kid had parent/teacher conferences that night. I wouldn't mind that one bit, and I made notes with myself to call Tara and Sam as soon as I had some quiet time. At this rate, it probably wouldn't be until the following morning. The final message was one I really couldn't decipher. It almost sounded like a hang up, but I heard someone struggling in the background. Because of all the noise, it was hard to make out any voices in particular. I thought about deleting the message, but decided to save it for later.

I had just hung up when I got another text message. "I am bored already. Come enchant me." I spoke softly. I left my purse in Eric's office, but took the phone with me so Eric could show me some of the other features on it. Not to mention, what was the point of asking Bill to call me if I wasn't going to answer when he did? I had my doubts about whether or not Bill was going to call me. I could only hope that he wasn't returning my calls by choice, and not because he couldn't.

* * *

"You look tired, lover." Eric said to me sometime around one in the morning.

"I am." I smiled over at him.

We'd been sitting in the bar for almost three hours. I'd had more than enough. "Are you worried for Bill?"

"That's part of it." I looked down for a second. There was no use in lying to him. "Mostly, it's all the human brains in here. The more tired I get, the harder it is to block them out."

I was a little disappointed that my phone had stayed silent. I had hoped that when I'd called, Bill had just been out roaming the woods. Maybe he was at my house waiting for me? I hadn't considered that possibility, and I felt like a dope for not thinking of it sooner. But even if that was the case, that didn't explain how his car had ended up on fire on the side of the road. I was sure something had happened to him. Either he was dead, or someone just wanted everyone to _think_ something had happened to him. I wasn't comfortable with either scenario, and I knew Eric had picked up on that.

"Come with me." Eric held out his hand. I hadn't even realized he had gotten up, he moved so quickly.

I took his hand, and grasped mine firmly. We walked through the crowd together, the vampires nodding their respect to him, while the fangbangers and tourists stopped what they were doing to watch him walk away. The fangbangers were familiar with me, since this wasn't my first trip to the bar. As usual, they were jealous of all the attention I was getting, and they wondered what I had that they didn't. The tourists, on the other hand, had mixed reactions to me. Those who were curious about what it would be like to take a vampire lover, or be bitten, were starting to form similar brain patterns to the fangbangers, although they weren't nearly as desperate. The tourists who had come strictly out of curiosity, and had no interest in getting involved with a vampire were worried for my safety.

What most humans fail to realize is that vampires know when to stop feeding on a human. Of course they have the ability to drain a human dry if they want to, but given the new rules they have to follow, doing so comes with a heavy price if you get caught doing it. Sure there are some vampires who don't agree with the new laws, and strictly see humans as meals. They aren't going to mainstream one bit, or so they think. They might change their minds after a trip to the Magister, or maybe a murder charge. A life prison sentence for a vampire can stretch on for centuries. But then, human laws haven't caught up with vampires just yet. By the time they do, the Weres, Witches and Shifters of the world will have revealed themselves and well, and there will be a whole new host of Supernatural Creatures the government will have to figure out how to regulate and police.

I thought Eric was taking me back to his office, but he took me downstairs. The last time I'd been down there I'd found Lafayette chained up and sitting in a puddle of blood. It wasn't until later that I found out Eric had dispensed his own form of justice after that stupid redneck hit him with silver. I made sure not to step where I thought I remembered blood being, but then I got the feeling that the basement had seen plenty of blood, and not all of it had belonged to that one redneck alone. Eric led me to a door I hadn't noticed my first time down there.

"Where are we going?" I asked him curiously.

"You'll see." He said without looking back at me.

The basement had been pretty dark, so I was surprised to see a rather nice hallway in front of me. The walls were nicely finished, and there were pretty sconces on the wall. It looked like we had magically been transported into a hotel hallway. He led me to the end of the hall, and opened the door on the right. The room was fairly large, and in the middle of it was a four-poster bed. It was a light-tight room. I'd thought Eric had a house, but I suppose there were instances when he was either too busy to go back to his house, or he had...company, and decided this was the better bet. I was hoping that if he planned on having me stay with him that the sheets were clean.

"I thought you had a house?" I asked just to be sure.

"I do." He closed the door behind us and locked it. There were two deadbolts on the door, along with a steel bar that dropped down. If someone wanted in, they would have to be quite strong to get in. I never would have guessed Eric had a room under the bar, but I probably shouldn't have been surprised by it. "I will take you there sometime, but it is late now, and I didn't think you would want to drive."

He was being awfully considerate of me. I was afraid to get used to it. "You're probably right about that." I yawned.

"Make yourself comfortable." He gestured toward the various pieces of furniture in the room.

In addition to the giant bed, there was also a an oversized couch and a chair that was way overstuffed. I decided to take a seat on the couch. It was like sinking into a cloud. All I needed was a blanket, and I was pretty sure I could sleep right where I was for a week. I don't know where Eric disappeared to, but I allowed my eyes to close. He cleared his throat when he entered the room again, but I had a hard time opening my eyes. When I did, I realized he was standing over me with yet another box in his hands.

"Eric, you don't have to keep giving me things." I told him.

"You don't like your gifts?" He wasn't offended. He was concerned that he'd disappointed me. That was new too.

"I love them. They're all beautiful, but you don't have to-"

"I want to. Open it." He insisted, and put the box in my lap.

I pulled the top of the box up, and I peeled back the tissue paper. Inside was a silky white nightgown. I picked it up the straps, and was surprised to see that it would almost reach my ankles. I would have figured Eric for more the mini-slip sort of guy, but this was nice too. He removed the box from my lap, and I stood up slowly to see just how long it was. I had overestimated the length just a bit, but it was still much longer than I'd thought Eric would have chosen.

"It's beautiful, Eric. Thank you." I smiled at him.

"There's a bathroom that way, if you would like to change clothes." He pointed, and I turned to look.

"I would, very much. Thank you." I pushed myself up on the tips of my toes, and brushed a kiss against his lips.

I went to the bathroom to change, and when I came back, Eric was fiddling with my phone again. Then I remembered the message on my answering machine from earlier that had troubled me. Eric put the phone down when he saw me coming toward him. He smiled faintly, very pleased with his selection of attire _and_ human. I sat down on the couch beside him.

"I called to check my messages at home, and there was a strange message. I thought maybe if you listened to it, you might be able to hear something I couldn't." I suggested, and picked up the phone to dial my home number again. I was surprised to see that Eric had programmed it into the phone for me.

I listened to Sam and Tara's messages again before getting to the strange one. I put the call on speaker, and let Eric listen. All I heard was some shuffling, and then some muffled sounds. I could tell, though, from the look on Eric's face that he heard much more than I did. When the line went dead, Eric hung up my phone. He looked thoughtful for a moment before putting the phone back on the table.

"What did you hear?" I asked him. He hesitated for a moment before answering me.

"Bill." He said in a rather flat way.

_Well how do ya like that?_, I thought to myself. Yet, I wasn't nearly as relieved as I'd thought I would be. Just because Bill had called, it didn't mean he was alive. My first thought was then followed up by, _Well shit_.

* * *

**Well how do ya like that? Is Bill dead or alive? *taps chin* I guess I'll have to post another chapter *grins* Thanks for reading!**


	15. Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough

Just want to say a quick hello to **xjamieee** and **fanficdee** of twitter fame for being super awesome and getting their happy dance on every time they get an alert. You ladies crack me up.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Mother We Just Can't Get Enough

I woke in the large bed beside Eric, and I was actually relieved to see that he slept in a bed during the day. I understood the need for the hidey-hole that Bill had in his house, since he didn't have a basement, but it had always given me the creeps to think of him sleeping in a crypt like that during the day. Maybe it was denial on my part, but I tried not to give too much consideration to the fact that he'd been dead during the day. Up until Dallas, I'd had no idea what a vampire looked like when they were 'resting'. Bill didn't look like a corpse, exactly, but it was pretty damn close.

But Eric...Eric looked like a sleeping frat boy. Of course he didn't make a sound, nor did he move once. I wondered if I could wake him up if I had to? I mean, suppose there was a fire in the bar over our heads. Could I wake Eric, or would I have to leave him there to save myself? I wondered if I could even do such a thing. Could I really leave him there to die alone? Sure going out in the sunlight wouldn't be good for him, but if I could keep him covered until help arrived, his recovery time would be nothing in comparison to meeting his final death. I don't know where I come up with these things, honestly.

I grabbed my phone to check the time, and I saw that it was already early afternoon. It was a little too easy to slip back into the habit of being up all night long, and sleeping away most of the day. I was thankful I had a job that didn't generally require me to be up too early in the morning, or I'd be in big trouble. I started up the camera function, and I took a picture of Eric sleeping next to me. I saved it, and then called home to see if anyone else had called me. Then I remembered I needed to call Sam back. There were no new messages on my machine, which worried me even more. I made another quick call to Bill, but got his machine again.

"Bill, it's Sookie. I don't mean to sound obsessive or nagging here, but I really could use a call back if you got the time. I'll be at Merlotte's tomorrow night if you want to stop in. I think there's a few things we need to discuss. Please call me back." I gave him my cell number a second time, and then hung up so I could call Sam back.

"Merlotte's Bar." Sam answered his end of the line.

"Hey Sam, it's Sookie. Sorry I didn't get your message until late last night." I apologized.

"Oh it's no trouble. I figured you'd call when you got the chance. How as Vermont?" He asked.

I hadn't bothered to tell anyone I was back in town, so he had no idea what had happened. "It's a long story, and I'm sure you're busy, but I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. I can trade shifts with Holly."

"Oh great." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, well, then I'll see you tomorrow. Gotta split." Sam said, and hung up before I could say anything else.

I put my phone down on the bedside table, and went to the bathroom. My stomach rumbled, but I was fairly certain there was no food in the room. I don't know if Eric had planned on me spending the whole day with him or not. My guess was probably not. He was probably used to the girls he bedded going their own way before he woke up. Although, I assume he made it clear that he expected to rise alone. He hadn't said as much to me, so I figured I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted. Considering the room was underneath a bar, and not far from where Lafayette had been held captive and tortured, it wasn't too bad a of a room. It reminded me a little of the suites in the hotel back in Dallas. The one in Vermont had been a little more country with rustic looking furniture and richer earth tones on the walls.

Eric's style was definitely more sophisticated, and it was uniquely Eric. I wondered how he felt walking into a house like mine. Just about everything in the house was older than me, and some of the furniture had been in my family for generations. My kitchen table, for example, had been built by some distant relative more than a hundred years ago. I loved that table. It was scratched up and worn, but it had a story. Sometimes I thought about replacing some of the furniture in the living room. The couch was in need of a slipcover after all the years Jason spent jumping on it. Gran used to yell at him all the time to calm down and take it easy on the old furniture, but my brother has about as much grace as an elephant (when he's not on a football field, that is) and as much patience as a charging rhino. When he was younger, he used to tell Gran that when he grew up and got a contract in the NFL he was going to buy her all new stuff. Gran would laugh it off, and tell him to spend his money on wiser things than that. Gran never would have replaced a stick of furniture if she didn't have to. I didn't plan to either. I liked the old furniture. It added to the character of my home.

Since I had nothing better to do, and there wasn't a television in the room, I played around with the internet features on the phone. I looked at news websites to see what was happening in the world, and there was a small story about the car fire that had happened the night before. It was a video story, and I waited patiently while the video loaded. I was going to turn down the volume of the phone when I remembered I wasn't going to wake Eric. I could have played that story at full volume right next to his ear, and he wouldn't have heard a thing.

"The owner of the car that caught fire on I-20 yesterday has been identified by law enforcement, but the name is being withheld at this time. Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire. At this time, there are no witnesses who recall seeing a driver inside the vehicle, or anyone near at the time the fire began. The coroner was called out, but as yet, a body has not been recovered. Anyone who has any information in regards to this accident should contact the Renard Parish Sheriff's office." The reporter read a little coldly for my tastes. But then, she had no connection to the man who may, or may not, have died in that car.

And of course there were no witnesses! If a vampire was responsible for the fire, they would either move too quickly for a human to identify them, or they would use glamour to wipe a witness' memory. Once again, human laws just haven't caught up with the vampires. Sure it was great that vampires were allowed to join the police force, but that was only helpful when another vampire needed to be arrested, and even then it could be one hell of a fight. Especially if the officer doing the arresting was younger than the vamp being arrested.

I completely lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was almost five. The sun had been setting earlier and earlier, the closer we were getting to winter. I slipped out of bed again, and went back to the bathroom to take a shower so it would be free when Eric woke up. I was just rinsing conditioner from my hair when something inside of me knew that Eric was awake. That was another aspect of our bond that I hadn't shared with Bill. I attributed it to Eric being older than Bill. And of course, Eric's blood was different than Bill's, and would cause a different reaction in me than Bill's had. Eric's blood could heal me, but it also seemed to make my sensitivity to emotions sky rocket. How interesting, coming from a vampire who claimed not to be able to feel anything.

Eric made a beeline for the shower, and was delighted to see me standing under the warm water waiting there for him. I got the feeling he had wanted to surprise me, but the element of surprise was somewhat limited thanks to that bond. He stepped into the shower without a moment's hesitation, and again, there was that look in his eyes like he wanted to devour me. He took the bottle of soap out of my hand, and looked me up and down.

"You missed a spot, I think." He pointed to my side.

"Get it for me, would you?" I figured if he wanted to play, that was fine with me.

I liked Eric when he was like this. He could be playful and a little devious in a good way when he wanted to. He didn't always have to be so serious and blunt. I tended to think that people fed off of one another's emotions, and like attracted like. I thought about what Pam had said that night at Merlotte's, about how Eric and I were similar creatures. She was right about that, only I'd never seen it. Maybe Bill had, and that was part of the reason he had been so reluctant to leave me alone in Eric's presence. I was learning that while Eric was definitely a tough nut to crack, he wasn't nearly as hard nosed as Bill wanted me to believe. Eric could also be ruthless when he had to, but that could be said of any vampire.

Bill was no better in many ways, and at least Eric didn't try to hide it. I was so used to knowing the truth about people whether I wanted to or not that I think it had hurt that much more to finally find out the truth about Bill. The thing that had attracted me to him ended up being the downfall of our relationship. I couldn't get in his brain the way I could a human's, and I wondered if maybe I had picked him for all the wrong reasons. I had liked the silence that being with him had afforded me. He was able to give me something that a human man couldn't give, and so that made him desirable in my eyes. But now I was thinking maybe I had judged him on all the wrong criteria. Maybe I had just asked all the wrong questions when it came to him.

Even soaking wet, Eric was gorgeous. His hair hung in thick strands like clusters of hay left in a thunderstorm. He poured soap into the palm of his large hand, and handed me the bottle. He rubbed his hands together, building up a nice lather before pressing each palm to my torso. I was impressed with how much attention he paid to my sides and hips. He was incredibly focused, not to mention, completely turned on by what was happening.

"Turn around." He whispered in a throaty voice that made one of the voices in my head whimper.

I did as he asked, and warm water fell down my front to wash away the soap he had so carefully applied. He moved my hair out of the way, and reached around me for the soap. His hands were on my shoulders and the back of my neck, but I felt part of him pressed against my lower back, and it caused my spine to stiffen just a little bit. His strong hands kept working, kneading the muscles in my neck and shoulders, and by the time he was done, I was completely relaxed. Then there was more soap on his hands, and he was rubbing my collarbone and my arms before moving his hands to my breasts. I put my hands on his, slicking them up with a lather of their own before reaching between us.

When I touched him, his eyes closed for just a moment before he made a noise I'd never heard before. I stroked gently, and he responded by lower his hand between my thighs. My breath caught in my throat, and in this new game of one upping each other, I leaned forward and kissed his chest. I dragged my teeth on his chest. "Bite." He told me, and I did.

There was the growl I knew so well, only this time, it was closer to being a roar than a growl. Whatever I was doing, I was doing it very right. I wasn't real confident in my skills as a bed mate yet, since Bill was the only man I'd ever been with. It's not to say that Bill wasn't good, because he was, but he wasn't very adventurous. He didn't seem to enjoy trying new things or exploring each other. I was learning that Eric was more than willing to spend hours memorizing the lines of my skin, and the way all of my parts fit together.

When he sank to his knees in the shower, I felt almost like I was being worshiped. He grabbed me by my hips to move me where he wanted me, and I was thankful when he put me under the water again. I was starting to get cold without it. Since he didn't need to breath, it didn't matter if the water got in his way, and he went to work kissing me from my navel to points farther south. His tongue and long fingers formed a partnership that I was certain had been designed to cause me a small death, and before long I was bracing myself against the walls of the shower so I wouldn't lose my balance and fall over on top of him. I had thrown my head back, nearly bumping it on the wall, but decided to look down at what he was doing. I was surprised to see he was looking back at me, and I felt a slight rush of embarrassment flush through my body. It didn't last long, though. Eric was far too skilled at what he was doing for me to feel much of anything other than amazing.

"Bite me." I told him, and it caught me by surprise. I'd never asked a vampire to bite me before. I'd told them where _not_ to bite me, but I'd never wanted to be bitten. I realized then that I wanted it, but it wasn't just for me.

Eric pressed kisses down the inside of my thigh, and his fingers moved a little faster. Everything in my head was sloshing from side to side, and I was cursing him in my head for teasing me. And then, there was the familiar sting of fangs sinking into my soft skin, and the suckling sensation that quickly accompanied it. I cried out in the most fantastic way as Eric withdrew his fingers, his hand snaking up my stomach to my breasts to touch them while he lapped at the small wounds on my thigh. We could have stopped right then and there, as far as I was concerned, but I knew Eric wasn't done yet. I was finding out that there were two kinds of sex with Eric, and they were both mind blowing. Either there was the kind that was purely hunger driven where he would gladly rip off my clothes and, well, for lack of a better way to put it, fuck me senseless wherever we happened to be, or there was the slower kind of sex that just seemed to build and build until we were both completely drained. If you asked me to choose which one I liked better, I really don't know if I could give you an answer.

I was trying to get my heart to slow down just a little, since it felt like it was going to explode if it had to beat any faster. Eric stood slowly, his mouth stopping at various spots on my body to pay them the attention he thought they deserved, before his lips finally found mine. Our lips were hopelessly locked for what felt like hours before I found myself pressed against the cool tiles of the shower wall. By that point I was in such a need for him, I might have considered killing someone if he asked me to. My legs opened easily, and he picked me up by my thighs. He pressed against me the way he had done the night before when I was sitting on his desk, and when I finally got tired of this game he was so intent on playing with me, I simply reached down and grabbed that beautiful behind of his, and pulled him into me.

For a moment, neither of us moved. I don't know about him, but I was definitely savoring it all. Then my body took over, and I found I was gasping for air from all of the kisses and the frantic pace at which my blood was pumping through me. My back slid up and down the tiles with each thrust from Eric, and I knew by the time he was finished with me my hair would be nearly impossible to comb, but I didn't care. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and bit on his earlobe a little before kissing his thick neck. I realized then that there wasn't much on Eric that was thin. Narrow, _maybe_, but not thin. That wonderful tension began to build deep inside my body, and I found myself hoping that he was almost finished because my arms and legs were about to become rubbery and difficult to move. I wouldn't be able to hold onto him soon. My body was just on overload. Not to mention, Eric had fed on me twice in twenty-four hours. Even if he didn't take much either time, it was enough to weaken me a little bit.

I finished before him, and I was still trembling when it was his turn. I felt a fresh wave of pleasure hit me at the same moment, and I decided right then and there that I would never complain again about being bonded to Eric. When he put me down, I realized he had been standing under cold water for a while. The skin on his back was colder than usual. I reached to turn the knob on the wall to get some more warmth back into the water, and when I did, Eric planted a gentle kiss on my shoulder.

"I don't know about you, lover, but this is the best shower I've ever had." He told me.

* * *

Eric opted not to drive his own car to Bon Temps. It was sort of a waste when he could just fly back before sunrise the following morning. Not to mention, he could fly faster than he could drive. We had decided it might be smart to make a stop over at Bill's house before sending out any alarms. I still had my key to his house, which I was thankful for. The police had been to his house, and there was crime scene tape on it, which made my heart sink. I was imagining a horrible bloody display that would make my stomach turn and my heart break all over again. Eric went up the steps first, and I gave him my keys so he could open the door.

In spite of the police having been there first, he was insisting on being the first one in. Frankly, if something violent had happened in Bill's house, I was perfectly okay with that. A quick scan of the area told me there were no humans nearby, nor any shifters of any kind. If there was anyone lurking in the house or the woods, they had to be a vampire, but Eric would have sensed their presence, and demanded they show themselves.

I stayed on the porch while Eric went inside. He zipped through the house in a matter of seconds, and if it had been me, I wouldn't have even made it up the steps to Bill's bedroom. "All clear." Eric said once he was back near the door.

"Did you check the hidey-hole?" I asked.

"The what?" Eric looked confused.

"That room under the stairs. You know, the one you rested in after we got back from Dallas?" I reminded him.

"No, but I'm sure he's not in there. It's already dark." Eric reminded me.

"Just look." I urged, and Eric went to go check the hidey-hole while I locked the front door behind us.

I went to the kitchen to check Bill's answering machine, and I saw that there were eight messages on it. I pushed the play button, and waited. Three of the messages were from me. One was to confirm our flight to Vermont a few days before. The fifth was from someone by the name of Andre, and this seemed to get Eric's attention. He'd been listening from the other room, and I was suddenly self-conscious about the messages I'd left for Bill. I shook myself because now was _not_ the time to worry about that sort of thing. We needed to find Bill, and the sooner the better. The sixth and seventh messages were also from Andre, and the more Andre talked, the more concerned Eric seemed to become.

"Who is Andre?" I whispered to Eric, but he shushed me. I hadn't been shushed by anyone in a while, and I pouted for a moment.

The final message was a hang up. Eric replayed the tapes, trying not to look at me when he listened to my voice, pleading with Bill to call me back. I felt the distinct heat of jealousy coming from Eric, and it caused me to angry, but also feel a slight shame. Eric listened closely to the messages left by Andre. He was talking about some project that Bill was supposed to be turning over to the queen, and they needed to see his progress so far. They were expecting him in New Orleans in the next few days, yada, yada, yada. To me, it all may as well have been sanskrit. I didn't know diddly squat about a project Bill was working on for the queen. He'd never mentioned it to me. Then again, there were a lot of things Bill had never mentioned. _Stop that! Now is not the time!_, I reminded myself.

"Do you know anything about the project Bill was working on?" Eric asked me.

"No, but then again, that project could have been me." I shrugged. I hadn't intended for that to be funny, but Eric's lips curled into a cross between a smile and a sneer.

"Bill never mentioned anything he was working on?" Eric asked gently, wiping that peculiar look from his face.

"No, he didn't, but then he didn't like the idea of me getting too deep into the vampire world. He didn't even like me working for you, so I can't imagine he would want me working for the queen." I said, except I now knew that was all a lie.

It occurred to me then that it was entirely possible that never gave a damn about my safety. He had simply kept me away from Eric so I wouldn't build up a loyalty to him. I was supposed to go work for the queen, in Bill's eyes, and if I was with Eric, I might be less inclined to help the queen as well. Although, what she wanted with a telepath, I had no idea. I wondered how she'd even heard of me. People around town might whisper from time to time if I latched on to a particular train of thought in someone's head at the bar, an accidentally commented on it. I did that sometimes, since it's hard to keep the thought separate from the words when there are so many brains in a single place. But since meeting Bill, I had gotten better at it. I was learning how to harness this ability of mine, and make it work _for me_ instead of _against_ me. For the first time, it was feeling more like a blessing than a curse.

Maybe there was a way to use it now to help find Bill. Eric and I split up and began to search the house. Being that Eric was a vampire, he had practice finding crafty hiding places and secret compartments where things could be easily stored. In the end, we found what we were looking for in the most practical place. I looked under Bill's bed, and I found a laptop I knew nothing about, along with bundles and bundles of papers.

"Eric! I think I found something!" I called out, and a second later he was standing behind me.

Since I knew next to nothing about computers, I handed that over to him while I started paging through all of the papers. There were photographs clipped to some of the papers, along with notes written in Bill's handwriting. It was a compilation of vampires. Eric got the computer booted up, and began punching keys and clicking on things. Before long, we were pretty sure that we had found exactly what someone might have come to Bill's house to search for, but hadn't been able to find.

"Looks to me like he was in the process of writing a new program." Eric said as he scanned a bunch of letters that were strewn together to form a code I couldn't understand. Hell, I couldn't have even turned the computer on if he'd asked me to.

"How do you know?" I asked Eric.

"That's all code. I'm not good with programming, so I don't know exactly what he was doing, but if I had to guess, he was building a database." Eric rubbed his eyes.

"A database?"

"Those are all vampires, Sookie." Eric pointed to the papers in my hands.

"I know," I tried not to sound too offended. "But what good would a database like this do?"

"Are you kidding? Law enforcement alone would love to get their hands on something like this, not to mention the more powerful vampires in the world. This would also make the queen an awful lot of money if Bill were able to complete it. To my knowledge, no one else is doing such a thing. Leave it to Sophie-Anne to be so ahead of the times." Eric smiled with amusement.

"You think this is what Bill was working on?" I asked.

"I think this is what Bill might have died trying to protect." Eric told me, and then shut down the computer.

"So what do we do with this?" I asked.

"We hide it." Eric tucked the computer under his arm, and took the papers from me.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take that back to Shreveport? I mean, if someone found out that Bill was working on it, don't you think that you could be tracked too?" I suggested.

"Well of course, but I'm not taking this with me to Shreveport." Eric said.

"You're not?"

"No."

"Then what are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to leave it with you." Eric told me, and I stopped in my tracks on the steps.

"With me? Nuh-uh, no way!" I said defiantly.

"Sookie, it will be safest with you. A vampire cannot come into your home without your invitation. Besides, if someone comes to Bill's to search out this project, it will not be strange to find your scent here. You were his human. It should be expected." Eric explained to me.

"And what about you?" I tapped my foot angrily the way my Gran did sometimes when she was waiting for an explanation.

"I am his Sheriff. You came to me because he feared for his safety, and so we came here to look for him together. End of story." Eric said simply.

It wasn't a total fabrication, and I was kicking myself for getting so paranoid so fast, but I had met enough vampires to know they weren't all as welcoming as Bill and Eric had been. Even Godric had been reluctant to talk to me at first, although I would like to think that if he hadn't met the sun, we might have come to be friends. It was easy to see that there was a gentleness to him, and I was starting to realize he had passed that along to his Child. You know, the man who rocked my world and curled my toes in the shower about two hours ago.

My stomach rumbled. I was starving. "We should go, lover. You need to eat." Eric reached for my hand, and I gave it to him.

He put the computer in my car, and then flew over to my house. He was waiting for me when I got there just a few minutes later. He's turned on the security lights outside, and I parked around back of the house like I usually did. While I went about making something to eat, he went through the many pages Bill had put together for his project. Eric was completely silent. I didn't even hear paper moving behind me.

I was just about to sit down at the table to eat when my phone started beeping in my pocket. I grabbed it quickly, hoping it was Bill. It was a text message from Eric, who was sitting right across from me. I hadn't even seen him look at his phone. _Have I told you today how beautiful you are?_, I read to myself. I smiled at him, but he kept a straight face while he continued to look through the papers. If I hadn't been so hungry, I might have forgotten all about the food waiting for me in favor of jumping Eric instead.

The next morning I was trying to think of a good hiding place for Bill's project when a car crunched its way up the gravel to my house. I was already showered and dressed for work, and it took the woman at the door a minute to recognize me without my wild hair and half open bathrobe. "Sookie Stackhouse?" She said in a more cheerful tone this time around that was lacking the judgment she hadn't bothered to hide the last time.

"That's me." I smiled at her.

"You sure are a lucky girl." She said, and handed me another dress bag.

"Yes I am." I agreed with her, and took the bag inside.

I unzipped the bag, and pulled the hanger free. It was another pricey dress from Eric, and it was just as pretty as the one he'd sent two days before. It was also red, but a different pattern this time with delicate white swirls on it. I didn't know it then, but he would send me another new dress everyday for a month.

* * *

**See? Now we get more into the book!verse stuff. So if you haven't read the books, I warn you now that this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you don't want spoilers, then it would be wise to turn around now. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Sweet Surrender

Chapter Sixteen: Sweet Surrender

I walked into work with a little extra spring in my step that afternoon, and it didn't go unnoticed. The second Sam caught sight of me, he was hot on my heels, following me to his office. He rarely closed the door when he was in there, but I didn't want the whole town knowing my business. Well, at least not yet. So I stowed my purse and jacket, and then took a seat in the spare chair across from Sam to tell him what had happened. I told him about Vermont, and tried to glaze over the details of how I'd come to be in a relationship with Bill in the first place. Sam had learned to accept Bill as a part of my life, but he'd never really cared much for him. I got the feeling that Sam didn't much care for the vamps in general. I told him about the proposal, and how I'd confronted Bill with what I had learned at Fangtasia the night Maryann died. I told him that I had not only refused Bill's proposal, but I'd left him in Vermont. Sam was clearly impressed with me, but he knew there had to be more.

"Well I'm glad you stood up for yourself. Most girls round these parts take the first proposal to come their way." Sam nodded, and I tried my best to stay out of his head.

Truth be told, I care what Sam thinks. I used to worry that his opinions and advice were a little too heavily tainted by his feelings for me. I knew there were still times when he hoped there might be something more to our relationship, but I just didn't see Sam that way. He was my boss, and I liked working for him, but I didn't think I would be able to do that if our relationship didn't work out. Sam would do his best to be professional about it, and so would I, but it would change things forever. It was just better if I didn't go down that path. Though I will say that on that one date Sam and I went on back when I was having some trouble with Bill, I found out that Sam is a pretty good kisser.

"There's more." I sat forward, and rested my elbows on my knees. "That car fire on I-20, do you know whose car that was?"

"No." Sam shook his head. "I can ask around some, if you want, but it hasn't been on the news."

"I saw it. I mean, I was on I-20 when it happened. I saw the car." I told Sam.

"Geez, Sook, I'm sorry." He leaned forward to comfort me.

"It was Bill's car." I could barely get the words out, but I was hellbent on not crying.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked anxiously.

"Yes, I'm sure. I know his car. I tried calling him a whole mess of times, and I checked with the hotel in Vermont. He flew back to New Orleans on Sunday night. I've been working with Eric to-"

"Eric? Aww Sookie no." Sam's eyes closed, and he sank in his seat.

"Oh would you quit it? He's not so bad, Sam, and if memory serves, Maryann would have killed you if it wasn't for him." I reminded Sam.

"Actually, it was Bill that healed me-"

"Yes, but it was Eric who sent him to New Orleans to find out how to kill Maryann in the first place."

"I thought you hated Eric. Why are you sticking up for him all of a sudden?"

"Because I was wrong about him, Sam. I saw him the way Bill wanted me to. I think Bill wanted to keep me away from Eric so that I wouldn't refuse whenever he finally presented me to the queen." I explained to Sam.

"You really think Bill's that manipulative? You know I don't like him all that much, but it sure seemed to me like he cared about you." Sam offered, and I stopped for a second.

I was so busy being angry with Bill that I had just assumed it was all a lie. I'd tried to hold on to the possibility that he really did love me in attempts to soften the blow, but deep down, I was pretty sure it was all a cleverly crafted lie. But hearing it from Sam, maybe Bill hadn't just been using me. Maybe at first, that was true, but maybe it had turned into something real for him. That was what he'd told me in Vermont, but I'd been too hurt to listen.

"Sook?" Sam waved a hand in front of my face.

"Sorry." I shook myself, and slouched back in the chair.

"So you haven't heard from Bill then?"

"No." I sighed. "Eric and I went to his house to look around yesterday, and we couldn't find anything that points to him being abducted, but that's what must have happened. Bill might have lied about his reasons for getting to know me, but I know he didn't kill himself, Sam. He wouldn't have done that." I insisted.

"So what are you going to do?" Sam asked me, and then followed that up with, "How much time do you need off?"

I froze for a second. My instincts had told me last night that Eric and I needed to get to New Orleans before Bill's trail got too cold. Eric had promised to start making phone calls and inquiries into Bill's whereabouts. Even if he didn't particularly want to find Bill, he needed to know where he was as his sheriff. I'd left my key to Bill's house on my kitchen table so that Eric could take another pass through there if he wanted to, and it felt good to know that he would be nearby soon. I was still sitting in front of Sam when I suddenly had the feeling that Eric was awake, and it made me smile.

"Sookie, are you feeling alright?" Sam asked with concern.

I bit my bottom lip so my smile would taper off. "I'm sorry, Sam, I'm just real distracted." I apologized weakly, and I knew Sam wasn't buying it one bit. "I have to wait until Eric calls. He was going to do some calling around last night and this evening to see what he could find out. Hopefully I won't have to go anywhere, but if I do, you'll be the first to know." I stood up then, and took a clean apron from the pile by the door.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sam asked.

"Just keep your ears open when I'm not around. Bill hurt me, but I don't want him to be dead." I told Sam.

"I know you don't, _Cher_." He hadn't called me that in a long time. It was nice to hear.

I smiled over my shoulder at him, and then started out to the bar to relieve Holly so she could get going to her son's conference. She looked prettier than usual, and from her brain, I could tell that she had a date after the conference with her son's teacher. Matter of fact, she had set her conference especially for one of the evening slots so she could get tonight free. At least, that's what I was able to pluck from her brain. Holly caught me up on what was going on in my section, since I always worked the same one, and then she was off to enjoy her evening. She was hoping this new guy she was going out with was going to be 'the one', because she thought it was high time she found a responsible father for her son. I didn't want to burst her bubble or nothing, seeing as how I had yet to meet her new beau, but I was pretty sure any guy who took you to a strip club on your first date wasn't the sort of fella you wanted to be your child's daddy. But, who am I to judge?

I ran catsup to one table, and brought another round of beers to another. I was waiting at the bar for a round of margaritas on the rocks when someone walked in who didn't have any brainwaves. I turned to see who the vampire was, since I was bonded to the only two vampires I could think of who might have business in the bar. I didn't recognize the vamp, and I didn't like the looks of him. He was greasy and dirty. He was extra pale, and he had long black hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in a long time. He had tattoos covering both arms. He was wearing black jeans and a leather vest. He wasn't all that tall, and he had probably been turned when he was in his early thirties.

"Who's your friend?" Sam nodded toward the vampire who was taking a seat in my section, much to my dismay.

"Never seen him before." I shrugged, and tried not to take it personal that Sam had just assumed that I knew the vampire.

Sam put the margaritas I'd been waiting for on my tray, and I took them over to the table of ladies who had ordered them. They ordered the appetizer sampler, which consisted of onion rings, french fries and buffalo wings. I noted their order, and toted it along with me to the mystery vampire's table. He was eying me just as suspiciously as I was eying him. He seemed to be in the bar against his will. I couldn't read his mind, of course, but I got the impression that he wasn't a vampire who was on board with all the attempts to mainstream into human society. He saw humans as a meal, and that's about it.

"What can I get you this evening?" I asked him.

"Royalty Blended, extra warm." He ordered without looking at me.

"I'm sorry we don't carry that here." I apologized as kindly as I could, considering how creeped out I was.

He snickered, and it didn't take a telepath to figure out what that meant. "How about RedRum?" He asked me. It was another higher priced synthetic blood.

"Sorry, all we have is TrueBlood." I told him, and he looked at me like I told him tonight's special was kitten fillets.

"I'll take an O Neg." He grunted.

"Coming right up." I nodded, and went to the hatch to turn in the order I'd gotten from the margarita ladies before going to the bar to get the TrueBlood.

"What's he want?" Sam nodded toward the vampire.

"O Neg, extra warm." I told Sam.

"Anything else?" Sam arched an eyebrow at me.

"I don't know. Sam, aren't you the one who is always telling me to stay out of things that aren't my business?" I reminded him, and he gave me a cross look.

"Aren't you curious why he's here?" Sam asked me.

"Well of course I am, but I'm not about to go over there and ask him." I tried to keep my voice down, although I don't know what good it would do. I glanced over my shoulder, and the vamp was staring hard at us. I grabbed a napkin, and wrote, _If you have anything else to say, think it at me so he can't hear you._

_Don't do anything stupid, Sookie_, Sam thought at me with pleading eyes. I wanted to knock him upside the head, but lucky for him, Andy's cheeseburger was ready.

I was tempted to call Eric to come down and check out the vampire who had found his way to Merlotte's, but I didn't want to tip him off that I was suspicious of him. I tried my best to treat him the same as I did any other customer, which was much easier said than done. Since calling Eric to come down and investigate wasn't an option, I figured the next best thing I could do would be to stage some goofy photo opportunity, and get a picture of the vampire with my fancy new cell phone. I talked Sam and Tara into letting me take their pictures. I waited until the bar was busy enough that it wouldn't look too out of place for me to do such a thing, and I stood them so that I would catch the mystery vamp in the background.

Once I had his image safely locked away in my phone, I was able to breathe a little easier. I could take the phone back to Eric later on, and hopefully, he would be able to fill in the blanks. I know Eric doesn't know every vampire in the world, but it was possible he'd at least heard of the one who'd trotted into Merlotte's. The vamp nursed his bottle of blood as long as he could before dropping a twenty on his table, and scurrying out before I could catch up with him. That much was actually fine with me, since I really couldn't think of anything else to say. I assumed he was in the bar in attempts to pick up on information. I wished I knew what he was looking for.

The rest of the night went as smoothly as any Wednesday night ever does. During the week the bar closed at midnight, so I was usually out the door by twelve thirty. I had spoken with Eric briefly on my break, but he was busy making other calls. He had offered to meet me at the bar, but I'd told him it was better if he didn't show up. Sam was a little high strung after the mystery vamp's sudden appearance, and I didn't want the two of them getting into one of those silly pissing contests men can so easily get into.

I walked out the back door like I always did. Sam was still inside going over the books, and would probably be there a while. He hated doing the books. I had offered to help with it, since I had been handling the finances in my house since I was a teenager, but Sam insisted on doing it himself. So, I started toward my car, but strong hands grabbed me from behind. I knew it wasn't Eric. I would have felt him coming toward me. Hell, I would have known he was waiting for me outside. Before I even turned around, I knew it was the mystery vamp.

"Why you taking my picture, lady?" The vampire was prodding me with angry fingers, trying to find my cell phone.

I struggled against him, because even though I knew I didn't have a chance, I refuse to let someone just abuse me. "I didn't take your picture. I don't even know you."

"Do not lie to me, bloodbag." He snarled at me.

The only vampire to ever call me that before was that disgusting vampire Diana, who used to nest with Bill some years back. She was dead now, thanks to that dumb redneck that Eric tore to pieces, literally, in the basement of Fangtasia. I found myself hoping that my blood bond with him was working overtime, and that he was on his way. The mystery vamp pushed me up against the outside of the bar, and held me in place by my throat.

"Where is the phone?" He demanded when he didn't find it, but I couldn't very well answer him with his hand clamped around my throat. Not that I would have told him even if I could have.

Again he was prodding me with fingers that felt like iron spikes. His fangs were out, and that...well...that wasn't a good sign at all. He leaned into me, sniffing me out while his hand was groping all over me, trying to find that damn phone. I squeezed my eyes shut, and hoped that it would only be another couple of seconds before Eric appeared. I was trusting our bond to let him know that I was in big trouble. I knew he was just a few miles away, and if he flew to Merlotte's it would take him less than two minutes to get here. The thing was, I wasn't sure I had another two minutes.

I hadn't heard the employee door open or close, but it must have, since there was a large Doberman growling and baring it's sharp teeth. It was Sam, I knew that much. I'd just never seen him take that form before. That was the good thing about Sam being a pure blooded shifter. He could turn into anything he wanted. He just preferred to look like someone's pet out for an evening stroll. Less chances of getting himself shot that way. The vamp kept his hand on me, but turned to look at Sam. He smiled in a sick sort of way that made me incredibly nervous for Sam's well-being. A Doberman might be a stronger dog, but it still wouldn't be much of a match against a riled up vampire.

When it was obvious that Sam's attempts to distract the vampire were pretty futile, Sam started growling loudly. I looked to the sky, hoping to see Eric floating overhead. If he was there, the night was too dark for me to spot him. And then the expression in the vamp's eyes changed. They went from violent and bloodthirsty to dreamy. He let go of my throat, and I fell to the ground, gasping for air. Sam came to stand guard over me, prowling back and forth to make sure I would know if an attack was coming.

"I'm alright, Sam." I stroked the top of his head, and he licked the inside of my wrist to let me know he got the message. "Eric'll be along any minute." Sam growled at that. "Oh come on, Sam, now's not the time for that kind of nonsense."

There was a rustling in the woods, and then there was a scream. I had no idea what was in the woods, or what had made that noise. Was it horrible of me to hope that it was Eric tearing that vampire limb from limb? Surely if there was a time for Eric to reconsider his policies on vampire on vampire crime, this was it. A beautiful woman almost six feet tall stepped from the woods. She had dark hair that cascaded past her shoulders. She was dressed in leggings and a purple silk shirt that pooled at her shapely hips. Now, I'm clearly into men, but even I could see why someone would fall in love with her on sight. She looked like a beauty queen and I wondered just what the hell she was doing out in the woods in the middle of the night, especially with some stray vamp running around.

"Who are you?" I asked in a raspy voice.

"You're Sookie, aren't you?" She gave me the warmest smile I'd ever seen.

"I am. How did _you_ know that?" I asked her.

"Why I was sent here to protect you, of course. Sorry I got here a little late. Vampires are generally a threat to my kind." She told me.

"Your kind?" I was confused.

"The Fae, of course." Her smile had to have been comprised of hundred watt bulbs.

"The Fae?" I had no clue what she was talking about.

"You know, fairies, brownies, sprites..." She trailed off.

"The only brownies and sprites I know are baked goods and soda pop." I told her as I made my way to my feet. She stepped over to help me, and once I was standing on my own, she wrapped me in a hug. It was awkward at first, but she was so sweet about it, I couldn't help but hug her back.

Even Sam seemed to be intrigued by this kind stranger who claimed to be here to protect me, and he eagerly made his way over to her. She knelt to scratch his head, and I was a little ashamed of him when he flopped over onto his side so she could scratch his belly. I actually gasped, and she looked up to see what was wrong with me. I wanted to tell her that she was scratching on a shifter, but that wasn't my place at all. Sam entrusted me to keep his secret, and I was going to do that until the day I died if I had to.

"I'm a fairy, Sookie."

"A fairy? Like Tinkerbell?" I looked at her oddly, and she laughed.

"No, not quite." She stood again, leaving Sam a little disappointed that she was calling it quits so soon.

"Sam, you should go on home." I instructed. He looked up at me through narrow eyes, but he merely whimpered before running off into the woods to find his clothes.

"Nice dog. I thought he was yours the way he was sticking with you like that." The woman nodded after Sam.

"No, he's not mine, but he's been around before." I brushed dirty off my legs and butt, and checked my hair to make sure I didn't have cobwebs in it. "So what's your name, anyway?" I looked up, but she was gone.

Just then Eric dropped down out of the sky, and I just about had a heart attack. I clutched my chest and yelped before I could stop myself, and I was afraid that poor Sam was going to have to shift twice in one night. I knew it took a lot of his energy to shift when it wasn't a full moon and I didn't want him to go wasting any more on account of me. Just for good measure, I called out to let Sam know I was okay.

"The shifter is here?" Eric looked around me in the darkness for Sam's form.

"Of course he's around here somewhere, he owns the place. Where the hell were you?" I demanded, and started toward my car.

"I smell Fae." Eric's eyes were wild, and his fangs ran out.

_Oh hell_, I thought to myself as he began to advance toward me.

I was pressed up against the side of my car with Eric's lips crushed against mine, and his hand up my shirt. I was trying to push him off of me. Not that I objected to kissing him, among other things, but I was right in front of the bar. All Sam would have to do is look out the window of his trailer and he would get an eyeful of something he didn't want to see anymore than I wanted him to see it. Eric seemed to be absolutely possessed at the moment, and I didn't know what to do with him. Finally, I stomped on his toes, and he backed off.

"Jesus, Eric, what the hell?" I glared at him.

"It's the Fae." He whispered in a dreamy sort of voice, and he had the same look in his eyes the mystery vamp had had just before he disappeared. "We are lethal to their kind, but they have the most delicious blood you could ever imagine. It's so sweet and-" I held up a hand to let him know I'd heard enough.

"There was a fairy here. She said she was sent to protect me from the vampire I told you about." I explained to him.

The only thing I could smell was the scent of stale smoke and beer. It was one of the unfortunate bi-products of working in a bar. I always smelled like that when I got home from work. So whatever it was that Eric was smelling, he could only pick up on it because he was a vampire. Apparently, the fairy's scent was quite strong, and had lots of staying power, because Eric was once again nuzzling me. He was inhaling as much of the smell as he could, and I felt fangs near my neck, and other parts of him against my hip.

"Hey!" I pushed him again. "Snap out of it, would you? You are _not_ going to bite me here." I insisted and began to dig for my car keys.

Frankly, I wasn't too keen on the idea of letting Eric have his way with me because I smelled like some supernatural creature he couldn't get enough of. Call it jealousy if you want, but I figured it was just plain wrong. I fished my keys out of my bag, and turned to unlock my car door. Eric zipped around to the other side of the car, and got in when I unlocked the door for him.

"So where were you? You had to have known I was in trouble." I tried not to sound too angry at him for being late to rescue me. If I would have agreed to let him meet me, the whole thing probably wouldn't have happened.

"I was on the phone when I got the feeling." He said, and when I glanced over at him, I realized that he was still quite excited over the fairy scent that was clinging to me like white on rice. "I didn't think it would be wise to fly and talk at the same time, but I couldn't drop the call."

"Well then it's lucky for me that the fairy showed up" I kept my eyes on the road, and tried not to sound too bitter.

"I cannot always rescue you when you get into trouble, lover." Eric said kindly, but all it did was fan the flames that were getting bigger and bigger in me.

"Did you ever stop to think I wouldn't need rescuing at all if it wasn't for you? Ever since I got involved with vampires it's been one hassle after another." I grumbled, and immediately wished I could take it back. Me and my stupid mouth.

"Would it make you happy if I were to leave?" Eric asked me, the trance of the fairy fading fast.

"Do you want to leave? If you want to leave, I don't want you to stay." Alright, alright, I know I sounded childish for saying something like that.

"I think you are overreacting, lover." Eric put his hand on my throat, but I pulled away. My throat was still sore from where the mystery vamp had grabbed me. "He hurt you, didn't he? You should have called me, Sookie. That was why I gave you the phone in the first place." I didn't appreciate the lecture.

"Oh right. Um, excuse me, Mr. Vampire, could you stop choking me for a minute so I can call another vampire to come down here to rescue me and kick your ass?" I rolled my eyes at him the way Pam would have if she were around, and I wished I could yell at Eric in his own language.

"You should have let me meet you. If you hadn't been so stubborn, this wouldn't have happened. You can't handle everything on your own, lover." He said in biting tone.

I didn't answer him. I was afraid that if I talked I would start to cry and I didn't want Eric to see me crying again so soon. The rest of the drive back to my house was silent. I was thankful I couldn't hear Eric's thoughts, and I was even more thankful that he could hear mine. It was bad enough that we could feel each other's emotions. Eric was a little regretful that he had been late, and I was feeling sorry for myself. What a pair we were. I parked around back of the house, and Eric followed me inside.

"Let me see your neck." Eric insisted once we were in the house.

I pulled my hair back so he could see where I'd been grabbed. Eric inspected the bruises that had begun to form there, and he traced them lightly with his cool fingers. The other vampire's fingers hadn't felt so cool on my skin, but that could just have been the extra adrenaline running through me at the time of the attack. I had been caught completely off guard by that vampire, and I still had no idea what he was doing in the bar to begin with.

Eric kissed the spots on my neck. He picked me up and set me on the kitchen counter.

"Stop." I said a few seconds later before my body could get the better of me, and let him do whatever it was he wanted to do.

"Is something wrong?" Eric straightened up.

"I don't want to have sex with you because I smell like a fairy." I said bluntly.

"Sookie-"

"I'm going to go take a shower. Alone." I slid off the counter and sauntered off to the bathroom. For good (yet incredibly immature) measure I slammed the bathroom door behind me.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Eric was stretched out on my bed, his hands behind his head. I was actually surprised to see him laying there. I would have figured he'd leave after my outburst in the kitchen. "You asked me to tell you the truth, so I must tell you that the Fae do have a strange power over us. Their smell is irresistible to my kind, I cannot deny that." Eric rolled onto his side, and looked at me intensely. "But I wanted you for you. You are beautiful, and the power you possess is much stronger to me than that of any fairy."

His eyes told me he was being sincere. He was sorry he hadn't been able to better control himself back at the bar. Eric and I had fought many times before, but it was different this time. My thoughts drifted back to the first big fight Bill and I had, and how we'd made up afterward. That fight had come to a screeching halt when Bill had told me he loved me. After that, nothing else mattered. But now I wondered if he'd meant it, or if it was just a line he fed me to keep me close to him. I was worried I would never know the truth.

"You doubt me." Eric's eyes narrowed.

"No." I said quickly, shaking my head. I didn't know if it was right to tell him that I was thinking of Bill.

Eric moved quickly to the edge of my bed, and took my hand to pull me closer to him. My hair hung in damp waves around my shoulders. He unwrapped the towel I had tucked around my body, and let it fall to the floor. He leaned closer to me, pressing his forehead against the warm skin just under my breasts. He inhaled deeply, and I wondered if he was trying to prove a point to me. He looked up at me so our eyes locked.

"You are the only person I have ever known who can keep the smell of sunlight on her skin so long after dark." His fingers grazed my stomach, and after that, I didn't want to be fighting anymore.

It was too cool in the house for me stand there like that, although I might have if Eric asked me. Thankfully, he didn't. He stood up, and pulled back the blankets for me. I snuggled into my bed, and I didn't even notice that he was peeling off his clothing at record speeds. He got into bed next to me so that we were facing each other. He brushed my hair back, and looked at my bruises again. He was angry at himself for being late, and he was furious at the vamp who had hurt me.

"This wasn't your fault, Eric. I should have let you-" I started, but he cut me off by putting one of his long fingers over my lips.

"I promised I would keep you safe, and I failed you." Eric said, although I couldn't recall him making me such a promise. I assumed that meant he had made the promise to himself. It was endearing, even if it was unrealistic.

I kissed the finger that was still resting on my lips, and I gently moved his hand away. I moved closer to him, and pulled him on top of me. We laid there for a good while, just kissing each other, and I felt better. I felt safe under the wall that was Eric. Eventually, other body parts joined the party, and Eric shifted the position of his body so that he was settled between my legs. I was looking him in the eyes when he pushed inside of me, and my fingers trailed lightly from his hips up his sides before sliding around to his back. He moved slowly and deliberately coaxing me along at a steady pace that wasn't as fevered as it usually was, but there was just as much desire behind it as ever. I didn't rush him, or get impatient the way I sometimes did.

And while his fangs scraped against my collarbone a time or two, he didn't bite me. There were no roars of passion or growls of desire coming from Eric, but I could feel everything he felt, and I knew he was feeling just as good as I was. My fingernails dug into his back as my body started to tense up, and my ankles crossed around his lower back so that my feet pushed him deeper inside of me. I gasped and cried out, my fingers digging deeper into his back. I was still breathing hard when he muttered something in Swedish, and then collapsed on top of me. He rolled over, taking me with him so that my legs fell on either side of his waist, and my head was pressed against his chest. He stroked my hair, and kissed the top of my head while I pressed gentle kisses to his chest.

I propped my elbows up on his shoulders so that my breasts pressed against him, and his hands folded on my lower back. We just laid there staring at each other for a while. We didn't say anything, but we didn't need to. I found myself in an oddly comfortable position. I was relaxed, and the longer Eric stayed there with me stroking my hair, the heavier my eyelids became. Before long, I was sound asleep. It was a peaceful dreamless sleep, and when I woke in the morning, Eric was gone.

Yet, I wasn't alone. I sat up in bed to find that the fairy I had me the night before was sitting in the chair across the room. "Good morning, Sookie." She said cheerfully.

I looked down and realized I was still naked from the night before, and I scrambled to pick up the blanket that was pooled around my waist. "How did you get in my house?" I asked her.

"The back door was open." She got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "How's your neck?"

"Sore." I asked, and moved my hair to look into the mirror above my dresser to see if the bruises were any lighter. They weren't. Damn. "I'll survive, though. So, what'd you do with that vampire last night?"

"Staked him." She said as if it were an everyday occurrence. For all I knew, it might have been.

"Got any idea what he was going there?"

"We didn't have much time to chat. Vampires and fairies don't really get along very well." She told me.

"So I heard. It was brave of you to let that vampire get so close. Thank you for helping me."

"It's my job." She flashed another one of those megawatt smiles at me.

"So, what's your name?" I asked her.

"Oh silly me! I completely forgot to tell you last night with all of the excitement." She giggled like she was thirteen, although if I had to guess, I'd say she was right around my age. "My name is Claudine. I'm your fairy godmother."

* * *

**Happy 4th of July, baby birds! I'm gonna post one more chapter and then it's off to the pool with me. Thanks for reading!**


	17. Mouth

Chapter Seventeen: Mouth

I paused for a moment, since I wasn't sure what the appropriate reaction to such a statement was. It wasn't that I didn't believe Claudine. If you're going to buy into vampires, witches, shifters and werewolves, you might as well believe in Fairies, too. My knowledge of fairies was pretty limited. All I knew was what I had seen in Peter Pan, to be honest, but Claudine didn't remind me of Tinkerbell one bit. Aside from the fact that she was the size of a regular human, she didn't seem to have that sassy personality or wings that allowed her to fly from one crisis to another. She looked like your run of the mill human. Well, Claudine was far too beautiful to be considered run of the mill anything, but the point is if she hadn't told me she was a fairy, I never would have known it.

"Does everyone have a fairy Godmother?" I asked her, since it seemed like a logical question.

"No." She said a bit hesitantly. "But your circumstances require help from my people." She put it as kindly as she could.

"What circumstances might those be, exactly?" I wanted to get out of bed and put some clothes on, but I was afraid to move. My eyes kept darting to the robe hanging on the back of my bedroom door, which Claudine picked up on. She was kind enough to get up and retrieve it for me without me having to ask. "Thank you."

"Well, you've gotten yourself quite entangled with the vampires. If you were just a regular fangbanger we would just let you go on your own way, but you're doing them a service." She explained to me. "That makes your case special from most."

"I guess I keep you pretty busy then." I smiled sheepishly as I put my arms through the sleeves of the robe.

She chuckled and said, "That's one way to put it."

"So how does this work, exactly? I get myself into trouble, and you pop up to rescue me?" I asked.

"Sometimes. Mostly, I would rather warn you ahead of time. I don't have the same speed as a vampire. I can move fast, but not as fast as they can, and it seems to me that you have a vampire who is very willing to protect you already." Claudine sniffed the air much the same way Eric had the night before, though there wasn't a dreamy expression in her eyes.

"That's Eric." I told her. I wanted to add Bill's name to the list too, but seeing as how we'd broken up, and he might be dead, I didn't see much point.

"Eric Northman, yes?"

"Yes. Do you know each other?" I would be amazed if she'd survived an encounter with Eric after the way he'd come at me the night before.

"I've heard of him. Vampires don't get to be as old as he without gaining some sort of reputation." She informed me. Good to know my boyfriend (I'd never called him that before! It felt kind of strange, if you want to know the truth. Eric seems a little too old to be anyone's boyfriend.) has a reputation that has him well known in several species. "What I know of him I was able to learn from my boss."

"And who might that be?" I asked, and Claudine's eyebrows knit together.

"I can't tell you about that right now." I was used to being shut out. "Sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. You spend enough time around vampires, and you learn that there are some things you're just better off not knowing." I leaned back against my pillows.

"Is your brother here?" She asked me. I was surprised, although I probably shouldn't have been. I'm sure her knowledge of me was far more extensive than my knowledge of her.

"No. Jason doesn't live here, and he only stops by from time to time. I can call him, though, if you want to meet him." I offered.

"No." She said quickly. "In fact, it would be best if you didn't mention me, or anything I am about to tell you, to your brother."

"Okay." I was intrigued, but nervous at the same time.

"Sookie, I was sent to you not only because you have warranted our protection, but also because you are one of us." Claudine didn't bother to mince words.

"I'm a fairy?" My jaw dropped. Well I'll be damned.

"Not a full blood like me, but part of you is. It's in your blood." She told me.

"But how?"

"I can't tell you that either, I'm sorry." She looked genuinely upset that she couldn't give me more answers, but I figured the whole story would be revealed to me in due course, and probably just when I couldn't take another hit from the Supernatural World.

"Is that why I'm a telepath?" I asked her.

"No. Your gift and the Fae have nothing in common. That was just luck of the draw on your part." She told me. _Some luck_, I thought to myself.

Immediately, my mind was off and running. If I was part Fairy, then maybe that was why vampires seemed to be so attracted to me. I wondered if I gave off the same scent that Claudine did, even if it wasn't nearly as heavy. If it was in my blood, then they could taste it as well. My mind traveled back to that mortifying night at Merlotte's when Pam had walked in on Eric and I having sex. She had made a comment about being able to smell Fae. I hadn't paid it any mind at the time since I was distracted with other things, but now...well...if Pam could smell it, then Eric certainly could.

"Sookie, I came here this morning to ask you to be very careful in the days and weeks ahead. I know you are trying to find the vampire you were once attached to, but in doing so, you are going to put yourself in great danger." Claudine warned me.

"What kind of danger?" I asked, but I should have known better.

"I cannot tell you that either. Just know that it will be big, and there may not be anyone you can save you from it. Not even your vampires." She looked genuinely concerned for me, and I felt bad for having to say what I needed to say next.

"I appreciate the warning, Claudine." I nodded, but she could tell I wasn't finished. "But if something has happened to Bill, then I need to know what it was."

"You are a good person, Sookie Stackhouse. You want to see the best in everyone, even those who do you wrong, but that need could very well be your undoing. Sometimes it is better to let sleeping dogs lie." She advised. Sounded to me like something my Gran might have said.

"You're probably right. I guess I'm just not that smart." I shrugged.

She smiled at me. "You're plenty smart, Sookie. You're just a little too brave for your own good." She leaned over and hugged me again, and for the first time, I caught on to the scent that Eric must have smelled the night before. I could see why he would find it so irresistible.

"Thank you for last night, and thank you for coming to me today. I'll try to stay out of trouble for a while." I promised her.

"I hope so. I'll see you around." She squeezed once more, and then left me to consider my new reality, and the dangers ahead.

* * *

Sam was relieved to see me walk into work that afternoon. I'd tied a scarf around my neck to hide the bruises from the mystery vamp the night before. The last thing I needed was Tara or Jason to come in and see them, and start forming a posse to kick someone's ass. I appreciated how protective they could be but sometimes I wished they'd just mind their own damn business. My brother, especially, has the ability to behave like some big dumb attack dog who just goes off without bothering to ask why. With Tara, her bark is usually worse than her bite, although I've never been in a physical altercation with her before, so maybe I'm wrong about that. Either way, I just didn't want them getting involved. If Claudine was right about the sort of danger I was in, the fewer people I had to look out for, the better.

Sam and I regarded each other the same way we always had, although I did pause to tell him I appreciated his attempt to keep me safe. Frankly, if he wouldn't have distracted the vamp, I'm pretty sure I would have been assaulted far worse. He'd put his hand between my legs, and I knew the warmth he found there had excited him. I could only imagine what Eric would have done if he had arrived to find me being raped by another vampire. I didn't even want to think about it. I shoved the image from my brain, and went about checking on my tables. I was working the lunch shift today, which I was thankful for, because I had a few things I needed to discuss with Eric.

I had Claudine's announcement fresh in my brain all day, and I kept conjoining it with what Eric had told me about vampire/fairy relations the night before. If what Eric said was true, then it stood to reason that he would be attracted to me only because of my blood, and the scent I gave off. I was suddenly overwhelmed with self-pity. I couldn't date a human because I could always hear their thoughts, and there are some things I just didn't need to know. I couldn't date Sam because he was my boss, and that would just make things a little too weird for me. I'd thought vampires were my way out of all this, and now I find out that they're attracted to me because of what's in my blood. Well that's just great! Is there no segment of the population that can just love me for exactly what I am?

The thoughts put me in a foul mood, and by the time my shift was up, Sam was looking concerned for me again. "What's going in, Sook?" He asked me when I stopped by his office to get my jacket and purse.

"I'm fine." I insisted. Maybe he would have believed it if I didn't sound so melancholy.

"You been walking around like a sad clown all afternoon." He retorted.

"Maybe I'm just having a bad day. I'll be fine." I shrugged on my jacket.

"You sure?"

"Yes!" I snapped at him, and slung my purse over my shoulder. "God, can't I just keep something to myself if I want to? Why does my life have to be everyone else's business?" I wasn't really mad at Sam.

"Sorry I asked." Sam looked down at the papers spread out on his desk.

"Sam, I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Don't bother, Sook. You're fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He didn't look up at me.

_Nice work, Sookie_, I thought to myself as I stopped out the employee door, and headed home.

I was sitting at my kitchen table with a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich when Eric walked in. He didn't knock, but I didn't mind. He had a standing invitation to come in whenever he wanted. I didn't look up at him when he came in. I kept my eyes on my book as I spooned soup into my mouth. He leaned casually against some counters, waiting for me to notice him. I knew he was there, I just wasn't ready to talk yet.

"Is something wrong, lover?" He finally asked me after about twenty minutes of the silent treatment.

I marked my place in my book, and picked up the dishes that were on the table. I walked them over to the sink and rinsed them out. I poured the rest of the tomato soup down the drain and rinsed the pan as well. I did all of this without look at Eric, or answering him, and then I headed toward my bedroom. He followed me, but he remained silent. I pulled off my work clothes, and deposited them into the hamper. I pulled on a pair of pajamas, and took my hair out of the ponytail I'd swept it up into before leaving for work. I washed my face to get my makeup off, and I brushed my hair until it was shiny and smooth. Eric sat on the edge of my bed, watching me move from one activity to the next. Neither of us spoke.

"That night when Pam caught us...she said she smelled Fae. What did she mean by that, Eric?" I asked him suddenly.

"I can tell from the look on your face that you already know the answer to that one." Eric wasn't about to give himself up, and that just made me even more upset.

"You promised me that you would tell me the truth! You asked me what I required of you, and I told you I required honesty. You knew I was part fairy, and you didn't tell me. How could you?" I demanded.

"You are angry at me for not knowing your bloodlines?" Eric was amused by this, and I wanted to hit him. "Sookie, if you didn't know, then-"

"Because you can smell it, Eric. You can taste it in my blood. You have had my blood many times now, and not once did you bother to mention that it tasted different. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked again. "Is it because that's the only reason you want me? Is the blood so good that it was worth hurting me over?"

I knew he could feel my anger just as easily as I could see his. "Is that how little you think of yourself, Sookie? You think the only reason a vampire could possibly be attracted to you is because of your blood?" Eric glared at me.

"No, I'm a telepath too." I spat, and that really pissed him off.

"Your gift got my attention. I will admit that." Eric was standing over me, his eyes locked on mine. "Your blood...yes, it does have a unique taste to it that I enjoy very much, but it is not because of the Fae. It is because it is _yours_. I am here because you are who you are, Sookie. You are brave. You are kind. You are generous. You are smart. You challenge me, and very few have the guts to do such a thing. You are all the things a human should be, and while I do not understand why, I cannot stay away from you. I had that feeling before I even heard you speak, before I knew of your gift, or before I had tasted you. I told you that you have a magic. You have power over me." He revealed.

I knew exactly what kind of power that was, too, but I sure wasn't about to force him to say it out loud if he didn't want to. Not after I'd been so completely wrong about his motivations for staying. He wasn't trying to manipulate me, or get me to feel anything I didn't already feel. I realized then that with Bill, there had been warning signs that I had simply ignored. In relationships honesty was pretty important and the second you felt like you couldn't trust someone it was probably best to end things.

I knew I could trust Eric. He had proven to me time and time again that he was worthy of it. Even with all this drama about Bill, he was helping me. He didn't have to. Frankly, he could have told me to stay the hell out of it since it really was vampire business, but he was letting me work with him. We were becoming partners, and it was nice to know that Eric considered me to be an equal. Bill hadn't seen me that way. He'd seen me as someone who needed to be protected, or kept on a short leash. Eric wanted to protect me, but he didn't want to hold me back.

"Say something, lover." Eric urged me, his fingers trailed down my cheek.

"I'm sorry." It was the only thing I could think of to say at that particular moment, but it was precisely what I needed to say.

"You are forgiven." He responded without hesitation, and I knew he meant it.

His eyes broke away from mine, and he looked at the angry bruises on my neck. He was still feeling guilty for not getting to me sooner the night before. I wanted to tell him again that it wasn't his fault I had been attacked, but I knew it would do no good. He had made himself a promise, and there was no way I could ever make him feel better about breaking it. Eric had a conscience inside of himself, even if he wanted to pretend that it didn't exist. I could feel it. I wondered if he had taken that into consideration when he'd given me his blood? Maybe the plan had just been for him to be able to track me, and somewhere along the way, it had gone wrong. I didn't know, and I probably never would. One thing was for sure, I had his number now. All of that bluster about not having feelings wouldn't work on me anymore. That surely had to come as a shock to someone who was used to being cold as ice at all times.

Then I got a flash of something I wasn't expecting. He was thinking about Godric. My breath caught in my throat. I had been there when Godric died, but Eric and I had never discussed it. I was there because Eric couldn't be, and I refused to let Godric die alone. At the time, I had convinced myself that I was doing it for me, and not for Eric. Now I wasn't so sure. I put my hand on Eric's wrist, and moved his hand to my mouth. I kissed each of his fingertips, and then the area around his mouth before finally settling on his lips. We were both feeling guilty for our own reasons, and it struck me as interesting how that feeling could easily be sated by feeling it together.

The kisses deepened, and I began to tug my t-shirt up over my head. Eric picked me up easily, and carried me the few steps back to my bed. I dropped my shirt on the floor as he laid back on the bed with me straddling his waist. I ran my hands up under his shirt, scratching him lightly while his hands buried themselves in my hair, moving my head one way and then the other. I rocked my hips against him, and he growled when I moved to kiss his neck just under his ear. He unhooked my bra, and peeled it away before sitting up so I could remove his shirt. The coolness of his flesh caused me to shiver just a little when he pressed against me. When he laid back again, I put my hand down his jeans and began to stroke him gently. There wasn't much extra room, so he unbuttoned his jeans for me. Once again, he hadn't bothered with underwear.

He reciprocated by putting one of his large hands down my pants as well, and seemed a little surprised to find that I was so turned on just by touching him. His fingers slipped back and forth easily, and it wasn't long before I was wiggling out of my pants, and wishing I'd worn a nightgown. I'd expected a much longer fight than the one we'd had. I made a note to turn the heat on before I went to sleep that night, because it was a little too cool for my liking in the house. I moved so I was under my covers once my pants were off. As fired up as I was, I was too cold to stay that way. Eric was doing his part to help make sure I stayed hot, in a manner of speaking, but the cool flesh of his body caused me to shiver from time to time when we were pressed against each other.

I was laying curled on my side, and Eric snuggled up behind me. My head rested on one of his arms, while his other hand went back to work between my legs. He entered me from behind, using that same slow rhythm he'd used the night before. I gasped a few times, and small noises escaped my throat. I felt his fangs on my shoulder, and I turned my head back to kiss him some more before pressing my face into my pillow to keep from crying out too loud. Not that anyone was around to hear me, but I still felt weird about it. I was finding out that with Eric, orgasms were easy to come by, and he always made sure I had my share. I started to get the feeling that he got off by seeing _me_ get off, and that just made him even sexier.

He picked up my arm, and put it up over my head. I felt his fang scrape against my breast right near my heart. He kissed the area for a few seconds before I felt the sharpness of his fangs sinking into me. He was avoiding my throat because it was already bruised up. I felt warmth radiating from deep in my belly, and my heart was pumping overtime. You add that to the movement of his hand between my legs, and you've got yourself a pretty happy Sookie Stackhouse. He licked around my breast to make sure that the coagulant in his saliva would close the wound quickly, and heal it nicely. After seeing the way some fangbangers were scarred up from their encounters with vamps, I was feeling pretty well taken care of.

Eric pulled out of me, and rolled me onto my back. He lowered himself on top of me, pushing my bent knees up toward my chest as he entered me again, and I wondered how much longer he was going to last. Eric had magnificent self-control when he wanted it, and I got the feeling that I could be there for quite a while if that was what he wanted. Frankly, I couldn't think of anything I would rather be doing, so if he wanted to stay in bed all night long, that was just fine with me. I grabbed that gorgeous butt of his when I realized it had been left out up until that point. My hands ran up his back, pulling him closer to me.

I cried out again when I felt a second wave radiate through my body, but Eric wasn't done yet. I wondered if he was trying to set a record, or something. But I suppose if you're going to set a record for most orgasms in an hour, I couldn't think of anyone better to be my partner than Eric. A while later there was a third wave, and I was starting to wonder how much more I could take when I felt a fourth one building. _And I'd thought makeup sex with Bill was good_, I thought to myself, and Eric seemed to catch on to this thought. It was definitely a boost to his ego, that's for sure, and it earned me a change in position, and what would be my fifth and final orgasm of the whole experience.

Eric roared behind me, and shouted something in Swedish behind me before I felt his chest on my back. He didn't collapse, thank God, because he would have crushed me. My arms were not strong enough to support us both. For a minute, I couldn't move. Every muscle in my body had turned to jelly. If I wouldn't have locked my legs, there was no way I could have stayed in the position he'd wanted me to. He flopped on the bed, and pulled me down next to him. He kissed my stomach and breasts, and I ran my fingers through his thick golden hair.

"Now that's what I call an apology." He mumbled.

"Maybe we should fight more often." I matched his dreamy tone, and we both laughed.

* * *

**LOL when I originally posted this chapter on LJ the girls were all up in a twitter over Eric's stamina. Now that we've seen TrueBlood!Eric go for 6 hours, this doesn't seem so far fetched. Sookie's a lucky lady. Bitch. Off to the pool. Happy 4th! Thanks for reading *hugs***


	18. If I Am A Stranger

Chapter Eighteen: If I Am A Stranger

True to his word, Eric brought me to his house. He owned two plots of land right next to each other. He'd torn down the houses that had once been there, and instead built one large house. The house was set a little farther back on the property than most of the houses near his. His driveway was long, and there was a high wrought iron security gate in front of it. There was a swimming pool on the side of the house, which I was surprised by. I didn't think vampires would be much for pool parties, but then that could have just been for show. The exterior of the house looked like any other house in an upper-middle class neighborhood in America. The lawn was meticulously manicured, and there were rose bushes in the front yard.

The three car garage opened as we pulled up. One space was empty, but there was a second car in the garage. I'd never seen his other car. It was a large SUV that looked like it had never been driven before. It sparkled in the florescent lights that hung overhead. Eric unfolded himself from the Corvette easily, while I had a little more trouble. I was, however, thankful I'd opted to wear jeans that night. It was chilly outside. Fall was rapidly taking its hold over Bon Temps, and a jacket at night was now a must. The garage door closed almost silently behind us as Eric led me to the door that connected the garage to the house.

From the second I walked inside, I had no doubt where I was. The design of his house was very similar to the room below Fangtasia. He had a kitchen, which I also found to be surprising, since most vampires don't bother with them. Again, I assume it was just for appearances. Should he ever want to sell the house, it would look pretty strange if there wasn't a kitchen. The floors were hardwood, and deep mahogany in color. They looked as if they had just been waxed or refinished. Just about every piece of furniture that could be covered in leather was covered in leather. Black leather, to be exact. The walls were the same shade of red as the walls at Fangtasia.

The appliances in the kitchen were stainless steel, and the counters were marble. The cabinets were the same shade of mahogany as the floors. The light fixtures sparkled. The house was just as meticulously cared for as the lawn, although I had a hard time believing that Eric cleaned the house himself. For some reason, I just couldn't see him on his hands and knees scrubbing the floors the way I did once a month. Still, it was a beautiful house. A lot of space for someone who could sleep in a coffin if the need arose.

Of course I was curious as to where Eric slept in the house, but I knew better than to ask. I had learned from Bill that vampires kept their resting place to themselves, and they rarely shared that information with anyone. I didn't expect Eric to tell me. Frankly, I didn't want to know. It was safer for both of us if I didn't, and I was already taking a risk just be being involved with him on a personal level. Eric didn't exactly give me a tour of his house, he just sort of walked from room to room, almost like he was looking for something. It occurred to me that he was checking to make sure there were no invaders, but I figured a person would have to be pretty stupid to break into a vampire's house. Then again, it wasn't like Eric hung a sign out front to let everyone know a vampire lived there.

Honestly, I wondered how many people could tell he was a vampire. It was obvious to me because of my ability, but I wondered how the average person perceived him. To me, he gave off this incredible aura of confidence and power. There was a strength that radiated from him. He was definitely a good looking man, which told me that most women were probably attracted to him, but I wondered if they were able to pick up on the same things I was just by looking. When his fangs were in, and he was just standing around, how obvious was it that he wasn't human?

I followed him to a room that I assumed was his office. He looked through a rolodex, and wrote down a phone number on a piece of fancy stationery with his initials stamped onto it. "I want to build a safe room in your house." He said to me in a rather blunt manner.

"Excuse me?" My jaw dropped. I wasn't sure I'd heard him right. "What kind of safe room?"

"I will need somewhere to rest in the daytime. You cannot be left alone." Eric told me.

"Because I'm not capable of taking care of myself?" I snickered. "Besides, if I'm attacked in the daytime, it's not like there's anything you can do about it without being charred."

"Perhaps, but if something happens at night my response time will be much quicker than if I have to fly in from Shreveport. I cannot protect you from here, Sookie. Unless, of course, you would prefer to stay here with me?" He suggested.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

If he's asking what I think he's asking, he's out of his ever lovin' mind. No way are we ready to live together. And I'm not crazy about building a vampire friendly safe room in my house, but I guess it's better than moving in with Eric. I like spending time with him and all, but I think living together might be going too far. Besides, I don't want anyone thinking they've scared me out of my house. The attack I'd suffered the night before was horrible, but I knew it could be much worse. It occurred to me then that that was precisely what Eric was attempting to protect me from.

"Sookie, you need protection. I don't know who that vampire was that attacked you last night, but if one knows who you are, then there are more." Eric explained to me, trying not to sound concerned about it. He was trying to be the alpha dog in all of this. The idea that someone might get the better of him through me was completely unacceptable.

I'd shown him the picture of the vampire I had taken the night before, and he hadn't recognized him. Eric was pretty knowledgeable when it came to vampires, and I knew he had an excellent memory. He had trouble recalling his human life, but I think that has more to do with wanting to forget than simply not being able to remember. Eric was still conflicted when it came to his feelings for me because caring for a human broke a code he had established within himself. I represented everything he was supposed to hate, and yet, he couldn't turn me away. Funny how we were in the same boat there, huh?

"Don't you think moving into my house is going to bring more attention to the situation, Eric? You're not exactly Mr. Low Profile. How many nights can Pam really cover for you at the bar without someone getting wise to what's really going on? I appreciate the thought, but I really think it's a bad idea." I told him.

"So you are saying no?" He asked.

"I'm saying I think you should put a little more thought into it is all. What sort of message does it send if you are staying with me?" I asked.

"You are my human now, Sookie." He said before he could stop himself, but he stopped there at the realization of what he'd said. In vampire speak calling me his _human_ the way he just did was the human equivalent of calling me his girlfriend. I knew he was dazed by how easily it had come out of his mouth, but I didn't say anything. I simply smiled at my feet, and waited for him to continue. "It would not be out of the ordinary for me to stay with you."

I snickered at this as well. "It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Eric Northman to take up residence with a human?" I tilted my head in disbelief. I don't know who he was trying to fool with a statement like that, but it wasn't working on me. "Just how many safe rooms have you built in your human companions' homes over the centuries?"

"This would be the first." He admitted with a straight face, and the implications of his answer didn't go unweighted in my heart.

I knew Eric was taking a major risk on me, at this point, just like I was taking one on him. By building a place to rest in my home, he would be giving up the places he had come to trust as secret and completely hidden from the rest of the world. I appreciated what he was trying to do for me, but I just couldn't let him. I didn't want to worry about him too. It was bad enough I was still worried about Bill, and so far that hadn't done me much good.

"Eric, there has to be another way to settle this. I can't let you build a room in my house. I'm sorry." I said as gently as I could. Eric wasn't happy. In fact, he was borderline furious with me for being so stubborn about this.

"What if I can't get there in time the next time someone comes after you, Sookie?" He asked me.

"Then I'm just going to have to live with that." I shrugged nonchalantly, but inside, I was scared.

"Assuming they let you live." He mumbled, and pocketed the number.

This conversation wasn't over. We were shelving it for now, but he would bring it up again later. I was finding out that he was like me when he got an idea in his head. He was pretty relentless when he was sure he was onto something, and Eric Northman was one of those people who wasn't used to hearing the word no. He was used to getting his way, and he was especially used to getting his way with humans. But as it has been pointed out to me several times, I'm no ordinary human. Jury's still out on whether or not that's a good thing.

I was wiped out by the time we got back to Bon Temps. I was having too much fun with Eric and not enough downtime to myself. I liked having him around, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that when he was around, it was hard not to be naked, and when you get naked, you end up doing something other than relaxing. Not to mention, I noticed I wasn't eating as well as I should be. I'd been pretty consistent in size since I was a teenager, and on a good day I fit in a size eight. Now a size eight was starting to feel a little loose on me, and I didn't like that one bit. I liked that I wasn't like the girls you see on TV or in the magazines. I liked being curvy and I liked being able to eat what I wanted without being too worried that I might gain a pound here or there. I was about as comfortable as a girl could get in her own skin on most days. The way I saw it, it could be much worse. There's no point in crabbing over the way God made me. I am what I am, and that's all I'll ever be.

I made myself something to eat, even though it was probably too late to be eating, but I was hungry. Eric was on his phone. He was pacing the living room and talking loudly in Swedish. I assumed he was talking to Pam. He hadn't been at the bar since the night I spent there, and it was most unlike him to take more than one night off. If nothing else, Eric and Pam were both extremely dedicated to their business, and they were constantly trying to come up with ways to expand it. I admired him for his head for business. It was just another way in which Eric could be ruthless.

I washed my plate and then went to my room to change my clothes. I washed my face and brushed my hair. I would have to do laundry in the morning if I wanted a clean uniform for work and I was anxiously awaiting my days off. Normally I look forward to them because I have chores to do but this time I was looking to spend them just catching up on my rest. I took an iron tablet when I brushed my teeth. I'd started taking those after Bill and I first slept together and I've come to realize how necessary they are for me. I forgot to take one once and I thought I was going to fall over I was so sluggish that day. I pulled off my work clothes and went in search of long nightgown to sleep in. I was just climbing into bed when Eric finally got off the phone.

I snuggled under my covers and curled up on my side. Eric sat down next to me on the edge of my bed. He looked at the floor for a minute before turning to face me. "I really wish you would reconsider letting me build the safe room, lover."

I sighed and said, "Eric, I'm tired. Can we just talk about this later?" I yawned and closed my eyes, hoping he would get the point.

He didn't say anything in response. He did, however, stand up and take off his shoes. I kept my eyes closed and prayed that he was just going to lay down next to me. I really didn't have the energy for anything else. I kept my back to his side of the bed and pulled my knees up closer to my chest. I preferred to be spread out in my bed but I figured this would give Eric the impression that I was closed for business. He laid down next to me but he didn't bother getting under the blanket. I figured then that he planned on staying with me until I was asleep and then he would go about doing whatever it was he did in my house once I was sleeping.

I often wondered about that. Just what did he do once I was asleep? Sometimes there was only an hour or two before he had to go but then there were other nights when there were bigger chunks of time he had all to himself. I felt a cool hand on my thigh through the flannel of my nightgown and I actually tensed up a little. I felt guilty for it but it just couldn't be helped. I was exhausted.

"Is something wrong, Sookie?" Eric asked me, although I knew he knew exactly what the problem was.

"I'm just tired, Eric." I rolled over to look him in the eyes so he wouldn't think I was lying to him. "We've had a lot of..." I paused because I didn't know how to phrase what I was about to say.

"Sex?" He finished for me, and I smiled.

"Yes, that too. I was going to say fun." I put my hand on his. "The point is, I'm really tired, and I just need a night to get my strength back. I need a full night's sleep and I need to start eating better. I haven't been taking very good care of myself as of late and that has to change. But I don't want you to think you did something wrong." I laced my fingers with his. My hand felt so small. Hell, my whole body seemed small next to his.

"You are a human, Sookie. I do not expect you to keep up with me." Eric said.

"Right." I snickered, and rolled over again so my back was to him. "Goodnight, Eric." I muttered and closed my eyes. Maybe he hadn't meant what he said to be an insult to me but I took it as one. I got the feeling, at that moment, that no matter what I did Eric would never see me as his equal.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning Eric was gone. I was just sitting down to a cup of coffee and some toast when another dress was delivered to me. I was starting to run out of room for them, as beautiful as they all were. I wondered how much longer this was going to continue. I figured maybe it would be a good idea to go through my closets and get rid of the things I didn't wear much anymore in order to make room for the new stuff that just seemed to keep on coming. I threw in a load of laundry so I would have something to wear to work later on that afternoon.

Then I noticed that Eric had been fiddling around with Bill's computer. I found the laptop and all of the papers on the dining room table and I wondered just what Eric was looking for. He knew much more about computers than I did but I was getting better thanks to the cell phone he'd given me. I still had no idea what a Yahoo was, at least in the internet sense, but I knew I'd find out one way or another. I had just learned what a Google was but I didn't see the big deal about it. I guess I'm just an old fashioned kind of girl. I'd rather read a book than a computer screen. Although, I have to admit that the internet could come in quite handy in a crisis and it was easier to Google a phone number than it was to look it up in the Yellowpages.

I took the papers from the table and took them with me to the kitchen. I was careful to keep them in order and not to spill my coffee or jelly on anything. I didn't know if Bill had the papers in any particular order, although alphabetical seemed the most logical to me. I saw profiles for vampires I knew and I was impressed by how comprehensive the database was. Bill had certainly done his homework and I wondered how he'd been able to do it all with all the time he'd spent with me. Of course, there had been nights when we hadn't seen each other for one reason or another but still...it was just impressive to see what he'd been able to compile.

Then I came across a profile that I found particularly interesting. I stopped for a moment and I looked closely at the picture that was attached. There was no denying that Lorena was a beautiful woman. She had sparkling eyes that always seemed to be a little on the watery side but in a beautiful sort of way. She had porcelain skin and deep auburn hair. According to the information listed she had been in her mid-twenties at the time she had been turned. It had happened when she was sailing to America with a group of puritans back in the early 1700s. I didn't remember much from my high school history class, but I remembered enough to know it was quite amazing she had lived for so long without detection in that time. The original settlers, if memory serves correctly, were a group of religious fanatics. Seems slightly ironic, considering part of the reason they had left England was to escape religious persecution.

According to the bio Bill had put together (and it was a little more extensive than most), Lorena currently resided in Mississippi. Bill had said that was where he had been turned. Could it be that Lorena still lived in the same house after all this time? Bill had described it as a one room clapboard house in the middle of nowhere. I had to believe that Lorena had built something more substantial in all this time. There weren't very many penniless vampires and based on the way she was dressed in Dallas, I was quite sure she had more than a few nickels to rub together. She wasn't quite as well groomed as Pam but pretty darn close to it and Pam has some pretty expensive tastes.

I sat there for a while staring at her picture. Bill's own profile was on the next page and I began to read it. He'd told the entire town about his experience in The War and he'd told me the story of how he'd been turned. But there were many gaps in his history for me. I'd asked about his wife and children but he was reluctant to discuss them. I didn't know if that was because his memories had faded, or if it was just too painful a subject to broach. I wanted to believe it was the latter but that was when I believed Bill had a conscience. Now I figure his silence was a way of keeping me from finding inconsistencies in his stories.

I was still angry at him but I was worried. Even if he didn't deserve my help, he was going to get it because two wrongs don't make a right. So, even though Lorena was the last person in the world I wanted to ask for help, I was running out of options. If anyone could track Bill down, it would be her. She was my last chance.

And just like that, I had plans for my two days off. I guess catching up on my rest is going to have to wait.

* * *

I was just finishing up for the night at Merlotte's when I got the feeling that Eric was close by. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. _I'll be done in five minutes. Meet me outside._ I told him via text message. When I walked outside five minutes later he was leaning against my car. He didn't look as happy to see me as he normally did. In fact, I think he was frowning. I'd never seen Eric frown before. He was either amused, expressionless or angry, but never frowning.

"What's bothering you?" I asked as I approached him.

"You were looking through the database, weren't you?" He was peeved, to put it nicely.

"You left it sitting out, Eric. I got curious." I shrugged and set my purse down on the hood of the car. "Besides, if you're trying to _hide_ that thing with me, then leaving it out on my dining room table probably isn't a very good idea. Vampires can't get in, but they can send humans over to rough me up and break in."

"Which is exactly why you need protection." Eric said bitterly.

"Are you trying to bully me into this?" I stood with my feet planted and my hands on my hips.

"If I have to." His voice was icy.

We stood there staring at one another, both of us feeling particularly stubborn at the moment. Neither of us was going to back down from this if we didn't have to but I had an idea. "Alright. I'll make a deal with you." I offered.

"A deal?" He almost laughed.

"I'll let you build the safe room in the house if it'll make you feel better." I told him and he stared at me, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "But if I do that, you have to come with me to Mississippi."

"Why are you going to Mississippi?" He asked me.

"Because that's where Lorena is." I said casually.

"You want to see Lorena?" He asked with disbelief.

"No, not really, but if she calls Bill, he _has_ to go to her as long as he's able, doesn't he? Isn't that the rule?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I'm going." I insisted and grabbed my purse off the car.

"Sookie, your presence at her home will not be welcome." Eric said in a very dry kind of way.

"I just want to know if he's alive, Eric. So you can come with me, or you can stay here and sulk, but I'm going with or without you." I told him.

He was frustrated with me to no end. If ever there was a time he wished he could glamour me, this was it. He wanted nothing more than to talk me out of my plan. "It would be unwise to go to Lorena without an escort. She would have no problem ripping out that pretty throat of yours and draining you dry." Eric told me.

I gulped. I hadn't really considered that as a possibility, although I'm not sure why it had escaped me. I was so used to just powering through the difficulties that life tossed my way. It worried me that I was so used to being in life threatening situations and more than that, I worried that my confidence I could get out of those situations would be what got me killed. I had been extremely lucky so far. I had been guarded by the right people at the right time but if I went to Mississippi alone, there was a very good chance that I wouldn't be coming back to Bon Temps alive. I didn't want to die and I couldn't leave my brother alone in the world. Like it or not, we needed each other, even if he drove me nuts more often than not.

"You can't talk me out of this Eric." I spoke softly, my confidence wavering just a little but not enough for Eric to shake me up completely.

"I never thought I would say this to you, Sookie, but you are being a stupid woman." He shook his head. He was beyond frustrated, zipped through pissed off and was now on to furious.

Tears stung my eyes and I pulled my keys from my purse. "Then I guess I'll see you when I get back from Mississippi." I got in the car and drove off.

Of course, by the time I got home, Eric was already waiting for me on my front porch.

* * *

**Damn that Sookie for being stubborn *shakes fist* Don't worry, baby birds, I'll be posting another chapter. We've hit the half way point in the story, so it's only a matter of time before it's over. Thanks for reading!**


	19. Fashion Hour

Chapter Nineteen: Fashion Hour

Eric wasn't at all happy about going with me to Mississippi, but he was even less thrilled at the prospect of me going alone. He tried to talk me out of it for days, but I had made up my mind. He was starting to get the notion that, like him, once I was committed to something I rarely changed my mind about it. I realize how crazy it sounds that I was willing to risk my life for someone who had hurt me so deeply, but I thought that if I let Bill's actions color my decision, then I would be no better than him. The way I saw it, I wasn't going to Mississippi for him. I was going for my own peace of mind. I wanted to be able to look him in the eyes and tell him that I was over him, once and for all. I wanted him to understand my reasons for leaving him in Vermont. I had things I wanted to tell him, but I had simply been too angry at him at the time to say them.

Of course, I was banking on the theory that Bill was alive. There was something incredibly off about that car fire to me. It looked staged and phony, like it was meant to throw someone off. I was pretty sure whomever had been responsible for that fire hadn't anticipated that I would be a witness to the aftermath of it. Truthfully, if I had just seen the footage on the news, I probably would have assumed Bill had burned to death in that car. But since I was on the road when it happened, and I drove past the wreckage, I was able to see far more than I would on the news. I'd seen more than one vampire corpse after they met their final death. I knew what it should look like, and fire or not, I wasn't seeing the tell tale signs of a vampire death.

Eric drove most of the way to Mississippi. We left after I got off work so I was able to get a few hours sleep in the car. But just before sunrise, we were still at least a half hour away from Lorena's house, and Eric had to get in his coffin. It was a bizarre thing to watch. I'd never seen Eric get into, or out of, a coffin in the time I'd known him. We'd pulled off to the side of the road in the giant SUV I'd seen in his garage the night I was at his house. I'd wondered why he'd bothered with it until I saw the coffin that was bolted into the back. Then it made sense. The entire SUV had tinted windows, and there was this plastic shelf that went over the top of the coffin to conceal it.

"Sookie, wake up." He nudged me gently. I was as cuddled up in the front seat as I could possibly get.

"Five more minutes." I groaned.

"Lover, the sun is rising." Eric said to me and it was a few seconds before the meaning of those words sank in for me.

Then my eyes just popped open the way Bill's did when he rose. "Right." I threw off my jacket and unbuckled my seatbelt.

Eric's door opened and there was that silly dinging noise cars make when the driver's side door was left open. I walked around to the back of the car with him and stood back when he opened the hatch. He pulled the shelf out of place and showed me how to reattach it. I would have to leave him in the coffin once I got to the hotel he'd booked. It wasn't a vampire hotel and I would be staying alone. He wasn't crazy about those arrangements but there weren't a whole lot of options for me. I would just have to stay in the room with the door locked and the curtains shut. He had practically ordered me to maintain a low profile, not that I had plans to announce my presence in town. Although, with the SUV I was driving, I might as well have. The plates on the SUV were those vanity plates that read BLDSKR II. Not exactly subtle, if you ask me.

"The room is registered under Adele Hale." He told me and I was impressed with his forethought to use an alias. I was touched that he had chosen my Grandmother's name instead of something cheesy like Mrs. Eric Northman. "The room is already paid for and you should not need to show identification."

I wondered how he'd managed that since most hotels required it. I was going to ask but I figured it didn't really matter. "Are you sure you're going to be okay in the car all day? It can get pretty hot here." I reminded him.

"As long as I am out of the sun, I will be fine. Temperature does not affect us the way it does humans." He reminded me.

"Right." I looked down at my shoes. "Look, I know you think I'm crazy for doing this." I looked to the horizon and figured I only had a few more seconds with him before he would enclose himself in the coffin. "I just wanted to say thank you for coming with me. It means a lot to me that you're here."

"You didn't leave me with much choice, lover." He climbed into the coffin so that he was sitting up in it.

"You could have said no." I stepped closer to him.

"No, I couldn't." He shook his head vehemently. "I must rest now, Sookie." He was starting to look weaker already.

"Alright." I nodded. I leaned in and kissed him quickly before watching him pull the lid down on the coffin.

I didn't seal it because he wouldn't have a way out if I did that. I put the shelf back the way it was supposed to be and then closed the trunk. I wondered if he was already dead by the time I got behind the wheel of the large SUV. It took me a few minutes to get the seat and mirrors adjusted. I had never driven such a big vehicle before and it took some getting used to. I wasn't used to being so high off the ground but it definitely offered a better point of view. If I ever got the spare cash to splurge on something, I decided I would spend it on a bigger car. I liked my old Nova but it was on its last legs. I would have to replace it sooner or later.

I also changed the music since Eric was pretty fond of whatever it was that was playing on his iPod. When it comes to gadgets, Eric is like your typical human man. He collects them the way kids used to collect baseball cards. He's got palm pilots, cell phones, cameras, iPods, and all sorts of other little things laying around all over the place. I wouldn't know what to do with half of them. I was fortunate he had also shown me how to work the navigation system in his car, or I would have been horribly confused. As it was, I didn't really know where we were going. But, if all else failed, I had tucked a map into my bag that I could reference. I was good with maps, even if they were a little hard to read while driving.

Much like Eric had told me, checking into the hotel was no problem. When I met the woman behind the desk, I immediately knew why. A vampire had been there to see her and she had been glamoured pretty heavily. I didn't know if it was Eric that had come to see her, or if he had sent a member of his staff. I doubted it was someone local but I could have been wrong about that. I can see the imprint of a glamour on a human brain but I can't really see who did the job. If I could tell something like that identifying Long Shadow as the embezzler would have been much easier for me.

I only had one bag since we planned on only staying the one night in town before heading home. I went to the room I'd been assigned and it was facing the small parking lot. The windows got northern exposure so the room never got all that bright. I was thankful for that because I was pretty darn tired. I followed Eric's instructions and made sure my door was locked. I did a quick inspection of the room to make sure there was nothing disgusting trapped in the sheets, or creepy crawlies taking laps in the tub. It wasn't the nicest room I'd ever been in but I had the feeling it was the nicest that the small town had to offer.

I got the feeling that Eric had been in the room, which just creeped me out. That feeling was confirmed as fact when I found a note from him in the drawer of the night stand between the two beds in the room. I smiled when I saw it but I also wondered if there was something important he had failed to tell me in the car that he wanted me to stew over while I was alone. It would be just like him to level a blow when I didn't see it coming and when I couldn't argue with him about it. He was awfully sneaky sometimes and I hated that. I hated feeling like I'd been bested almost as much as he did.

_Lover,_

_I regret I did not tell you this before resting for the day, but be assured I had good reason for it. I had to call ahead to tell the King of Mississippi that I was coming into his territory. It is a courtesy amongst our kind and a violating that courtesy would be considered exceptionally rude. Therefore, it is possible that Lorena is aware we are coming to her. If she knows anything at all about Bill's whereabouts, or if she has been holding him captive, I fear we may be too late to save him from final death._

_I expect you will be angry with me for withholding this information from you but I worried that telling you would cause you to do something even more foolish than you already are. I am only trying to keep you safe._

_I will see you at sundown._

_E_

I was torn between wanting to go out to the SUV, yank off that shelf and open his coffin so I could let him have it and feeling loved for his need to protect me. I hated that he felt he had to trick me into doing things _his_ way because he was so sure that _his_ way was the better way. Maybe if vampires weren't so damn secretive about their procedures, customs and rules I might not be so determined to challenge them every chance I got. I wondered if he ever considered this possibility. But then, I was the one who was always saying I didn't want to know things. I couldn't very well have it both ways, now could I?

I stuck the note in my purse, since I didn't think throwing it away was a good idea. I only planned to leave the room for food. There was a small diner across the street and I figured I would be safe making that small trip. It was early in the day. Vampires wouldn't be out patrolling for me, that's for sure. So, I slipped into my hooded sweatshirt and grabbed my purse before heading across the street to the diner. The hotel was located right off the highway and it looked to me like most of the clientele at the diner was truck drivers. Most of them sat at the counter, chugging strong black coffee and swapping stories of their travels.

When I walked in a waitress told me to take a seat anywhere I wanted and I took one near a window so I could keep an eye on the SUV across the street. I'd bought a newspaper to read, although I'm not sure why. I guess I thought it made me look a little more inconspicuous. I ordered coffee which turned out to be a big mistake. It was more like mud and there is nothing worse than a bad cup of coffee when all you need is a really good one. The food was greasy and came in large portions. Jason would have loved it. He would have thought it was an ideal meal to cure a hangover, something I most definitely did not have. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a hangover in my whole life.

But, I was able to get something in my belly and that's all I cared about. I remembered to take my iron tablet like I always did in the morning. It helped give me a boost of energy and I would certainly need it since I would be working without coffee in my system. I paid for my breakfast and then headed back across the street. I kept my mind open wide to make sure there were no supes tracking me and that the humans across the street hadn't thought anything particularly odd of my appearance. The strangest thing I'd heard was the waitress wondering who I was with that had such a fancy car when I didn't appear to be that pretty or smart. It always amazed me how people assumed that girls who didn't seem to be too pretty or smart must be awfully good bed mates.

With a full tummy and nothing else to do, I went back to the hotel and laid down for a while. The next time I woke up it was almost sundown. I wish I could say I didn't know why I was flooded with happiness but that would be a lie. I knew exactly why and I was just about to get in the shower when I saw the hatch of the SUV open. I don't think I'd ever smiled so wide in my whole life.

The second shower I shared with Eric put the first to shame. He'd tried to convince me to take some of his blood, insisting I might need extra strength, but I refused to do it. It wasn't so long ago that I'd had his blood. I could still feel it in my body. I was still stronger than your average person. Besides, I knew the more times I swapped blood with a vampire, the closer I was to being turned. If I wasn't careful, I would end up one of his kind. I didn't want that.

I was thankful that it didn't take much blood to sustain Eric because I wasn't sure I had a whole lot to spare, but I had let him bite me when we were in the shower. I felt a little jittery afterward but I told myself it was because it had been so long since I'd eaten last. Before going to Lorena's I would need to eat again. In fact, I was in the process of getting dressed when my stomach rumbled. I was in the bathroom at the time but Eric had heard it loud and clear from the main part of the hotel room. I was still drying my hair when he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom with a styrofoam box in his hands.

"What's this?" I turned off the hair dryer.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" He thrust the box at me.

I smiled at him awkwardly, but took the box. I opened it to find a cheeseburger inside. Well, at least I thought it was a cheeseburger. The way they cooked over at the diner it was hard to tell. Still, I appreciated his concern for me. "Thank you." I smiled at him. I set the box down and finished drying my hair before stopping to eat.

"You haven't said anything about the note I left you. I assume you found it." Eric sat on one of the two beds in the room.

"I did. There isn't much to discuss. You did what you had to do, right? I couldn't have talked you out of it any more than you could have talked me out of coming here. Besides, they already know, so there's no point in arguing over it." I shrugged, taking a relatively zen approach to the whole thing. How unlike me.

Eric had been expecting an argument, I could tell. "For what it is worth, I don't think the king forwarded word to Lorena. She has caused many troubles for many people. He might glad to be rid of her."

"I'm not going to kill her, Eric." I looked at him pointedly. "I just want to know what she knows about Bill, that's it."

"What if it comes down to saving your own skin, Sookie? Do you think you could do it then?" Eric asked me. "Because it might come to that."

"If I had to choose between my life and hers, then yes, I think I could." I said without looking at him. I didn't want to see him gloating over my admission. I felt a sense of pride coming from Eric, but it didn't make me feel any better. Making a decision like that wasn't easy for me, and of course, it was easier said than done.

"You realize that unless she attacks me first, I cannot take her life." Eric wanted to make sure we were clear on this.

"I didn't ask you to accompany me for that reason, Eric. I don't expect you to kill for me." I said that with absolutely clarity. I meant it, too.

"If she were human, I would." Eric followed up immediately, and he meant that too.

"I know." I nodded. It was a scary thought to be so close to someone who was so willing to take a human life if I asked him to. It scared me how many people I could think of that I wouldn't mind putting on such a list. Lord help them all if that list ever found its way to Eric's hands.

* * *

Lorena's house was dimly lit and she didn't seem at all surprised to see me. It was almost as if she had been waiting for me to show my face. I got the worst feeling that we were about to be ambushed. Eric had my back, but no one had his. If he and Lorena were to fight one on one, he would win easily. The same could not so easily be said if she had nestmates creeping around, waiting to help her out at a time like this. I tried not to be too emotional. I figured a blank slate would be the best way to approach Lorena.

"Miss Stackhouse, I wish I could say that it's a pleasure to see you again." Lorena wasn't at all happy to see me.

"Lorena." I nodded.

"Sheriff, what brings you such a long, long way? Certainly, I am not in your jurisdiction." She was taking a shot at Godric. Bad move on her part.

I actually cringed when she spoke because I could feel this overwhelming rage and sadness at the same time coming off of Eric in waves. After a comment like that, he was aching for her to attempt to fight him. He could not simply show up at her home with a stake and kill her but he could defend himself with deadly force, if necessary. I found myself hoping the same thing Eric did. I realized then that I really wouldn't mind it if Lorena were to die as a result of this visit. I didn't know a single vampire who would be sorry to hear of her passing.

"We are hear to discuss your Child." Eric told her. "The king is aware I am here."

"Why do you think I'm not more surprised to see you?" Lorena rolled her eyes and stepped back. "Please come in."

I looked back at Eric and he nodded. I stepped into the house but didn't go too far from Eric. I had a bad feeling about this. Lorena's house looked like she had bought out every Pottery Barn in the country to stock her house. As much as I couldn't stand her, I had to admit, she had good taste. The inside of the house matched the outside much better than over at Eric's place. But then, I couldn't imagine the neighbors would react in a good way if they drove by one day to find the house painted black or bright red. Can you imagine a cherry red house with black shudders? Yeah, I can't either.

I was afraid to take a seat on the couch, like maybe her furniture had the power to swallow me whole, or something. But Eric sat right beside me, making it clear he was there not only as a vampire in a position of authority, but to protect me as well. Lorena seemed amused by this concept and I was guessing she wondered the same thing the fangbangers always did: what was so special about me? I asked myself that question all the time, only now I was pretty sure I had two pretty good answers and I didn't have any kind of control over either of them. I hadn't been asked to be born with my gift any more than I'd asked to be born with fairy blood.

"So, Lorena, you know why we are here if you have spoken with the king." Eric was ready to talk business. I was prepared to shut up and let him. He would probably get further with her than I ever would anyway.

"His Majesty called me after you paid your visit." Lorena informed me and I looked to Eric. In his note he'd said he'd called the king. I had assumed that meant he had picked up the phone. I should have known better. "He said that you were looking for Bill."

"Have you seen him?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Lorena grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Not since Dallas when I was forced out by the defective one."

My insides churned when she said that. It was an exceptionally personal blow she had just landed smack dab in Eric's emotional stomach. She was trying to provoke him. A few more comments like that might just get the job done. "Actually, if I remember correctly, _Godric_ removed the defective one." I tossed at her, and Eric glared at me. It was a warning to keep my big trap shut.

"You come for my help and you insult me." Lorena clicked her tongue and shook her head.

Eric was a sheriff, which afforded him some level of authority, although not nearly as much as he would have if we were back in Louisiana. He couldn't handle Lorena the way he did one of his own. However, none of the vampires that lived in his area would be foolish enough to talk to him the way Lorena did. Still, I thought it was foolish of her to test his temper. I decided right then and there that it would be best if I just stayed quiet and let Eric handle it all. That was why I'd brought him, wasn't it? Lorena certainly didn't feel any sympathy for me and if she was aware of what Bill had done to me, she probably thought I was pathetic for trying to track him down.

Sometimes I thought the same thing. There was a part of me that thought he deserved whatever he got, but that part seemed to be getting a little bigger each day. That made me nervous. I wasn't a spectacularly religious girl, but I was Christian enough to know that I was supposed to turn the other cheek when someone did me wrong. I hadn't been turning the other cheek so much, as of late, as I had been cracking skulls. Of course, now wasn't really the time to consider what my afterlife was going to look like. Right now, the priority was getting Lorena to tell us something- anything- about where Bill might be.

Suddenly, there was a lull in the conversation. Eric had managed to maintain a pretty level tone with Lorena, in spite of her insults. Eric made the slightest movement, and I got the feeling he was trying to hear something I couldn't. Then there was a buzzing in my pocket. My cell phone was going off. Now who in the hell could be calling me? I was thankful I'd put it on silent earlier. Eric looked at me when he felt the buzzing of the phone through his pant leg. He looked at me and nodded to let me know it was okay to check the phone, even if I thought it was a horrible idea.

"Please excuse me." I pulled the phone from my pocket, not that Lorena was paying me the slightest bit of attention. I could tell she didn't think much of me. Wouldn't have needed to be a telepath to figure that one out.

I had a text message from Eric. He had somehow been able to text me without ever removing his phone from his pocket. I had to suppress a smile but that was easy enough to do when I read the message he'd sent me. _Bill is here. I can sense him. We need to get to the basement._ I gulped hard and tried to figure out how we were going to talk Lorena into doing that. But, of course, Eric already had that all worked out.

"I would appreciate it very much if you would permit me to take a look around your home." Eric said.

"Why?" Lorena asked. "You have his human. I believe that is what you were after all along, is it not?" She flashed me a knowing smile and I wondered what she knew that I didn't.

I would have to ask Eric later. Now certainly wasn't the time for such things, as much as I wanted to know. "You can allow me to look around, or I can speak with your king. The choice is yours." Eric said in his delightfully arrogant way that I only found appealing when he was throwing his weight at someone other than me.

"You don't have authorities over me, Eric. You are not my sheriff and I am not in your area. Call the king." Lorena challenged him.

_Oh you are so lucky we're not in Louisiana_, I thought to myself as Eric produced his phone to place his call. But then I heard a noise coming from the vent on the other side of the room. He was right; there was definitely someone downstairs. Whether it was Bill or not, I didn't know. I let my mental shields fall away and I counted vampire brains. Why I hadn't thought to do that sooner, I don't know. I counted Eric and Lorena, since they were sitting right there, but I realized there were at least two more close by. There was a fifth brain but it wasn't a vampire brain. It was a shifter of some sort. Shifter brains are harder to determine just by pattern. I couldn't tell if I was dealing with a shape shifter, or a Were. I wasn't thrilled with either possibility. It would be hard enough for Eric to protect me from three vampires without throwing a shifter into the mix.

Lorena glared at me with red hot malice in her eyes as Eric spoke with the king of Mississippi. Their conversation started out in a more jovial tone than the one it ended with. Lorena was clearly not happy that she was being ordered to give Eric permission to look around her house, but if she had nothing to hide then she had nothing to worry about. Eric was to report his findings to the representative the king was sending immediately. It wouldn't take long for the rep to arrive, I was sure of that, although I didn't know where the king lived in relation to Lorena's home. Vampire "royalty" tended to live in the biggest cities of the state. So I was hoping that meant the king lived somewhere in Jackson or Hattiesburg. Hattiesburg would be preferable in this situation.

Lorena grudgingly got up out of her chair after speaking briefly with her king and began to lead us from room to room in her house. I was able to learn that she wasn't living alone. She was nesting with two other vampires, which might explain the other vampire brains I'd counted in the basement. But then when we were in one of the bedrooms, I had an eery feeling. I looked around, hoping to find a photograph in the room somewhere. Of course that didn't happen. Vampires aren't very big on photographs and they're even _less_ happy with the idea of being photographed. I guess there isn't much of a point when vampires have such good memories and they never change their physical appearance anyway. If she lived that long, Lorena would look exactly the same in two hundred years as she did right this second. She wouldn't need a photograph to remember how young and beautiful she once was before all the wrinkles and sagging skin took over.

She was anxious to get her out of her house. I couldn't blame her. She knew there would be hell to pay if we found Bill in her basement. The fact that she was his Maker wouldn't really matter much, since I'd gotten the impression she had already sworn up and down that she knew nothing of his whereabouts. It was one thing to lie to Eric, but it was another to lie to her king. She could have very simply said that she was holding Bill because he had disobeyed her orders when she called him but the chances of such a claim sticking after the scene she'd made in Dallas were pretty slim. I didn't feel the least bit sorry for her. I'd learned a while ago that feeling sympathy for any vampire was a pretty big mistake, although it didn't stop me from doing exactly that from time to time.

She walked us around the house, and then back to the front door with a smug look on her face. "Well, you've seen all there is to see."

"The basement." Eric pointed to a door in the kitchen.

"Oh there's nothing down there but a washing machine." She shrugged him off.

"Then you won't mind us having a look." Eric's eyes sparkled. He was gearing up for a fight. I wanted to grab his hand and hide behind him but I didn't want to appear weak. Lorena thought I was weak enough as it was.

"Fine." She said through a clenched jaw.

There was a knock at the door and as stupid as it might sound, I went on ahead to the basement. Eric called out to me but I kept on going. I flung open the door and I started calling out Bill's name. I ran down the steps into the dark basement, not knowing what to expect. The light down there was very dim and it didn't help that there were no windows. Not that I would have gotten much more light but some would have been helpful. What I found made my stomach turn.

Bill was bound with silver to a chair. Little piece of silver hung from the ceiling to ensure he would have a hard time healing from the hundreds of wounds, burns and other elements of torture that had been inflicted on him. There was a terrible smell in the basement and it made me gag violently. I thought I was going to be sick just looking at him. I'd never seen another human being look more pitiful than Bill looked right at that moment. I wanted to help him but I knew that if I got close to him I was nothing more than a meal. I was pretty sure he hadn't fed since he'd been taken. He looked at me with that ferocious lust a vampire gets when they haven't fed in a while. I gulped and wondered what was taking Eric so long to get downstairs. Not that he would be of much help to Bill in a situation like this.

I wondered where the other brains I'd counted had gone. I had counted two vampire brains somewhere in the house and I now knew that one of them was Bill's. That meant there was still a vampire around somewhere and he or she wasn't alone. I tried to focus as much as I could to pluck out their location. Stupidly, I closed my eyes in attempts to focus a little bit more. Then was a loud thump and splitting pain in the side of my head. I was knocked out before I knew what was happening.

* * *

**Yep, another cliffhanger. Stupid Sookie. WTF was she thinking going into the basement alone? I asked myself the same question after I wrote this. But trust me, there's a reason. It'll all work out in the end one way or another. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Kill

Chapter Twenty: Kill

My eyes fluttered open just a little, so I wasn't sure of what I was seeing. I know I saw red hair swinging around and the unmistakable flash of fangs. Then strong cool hands were picking me up off the floor. I recognized the smell that was now enveloping me as Eric's. There was throbbing pain in my head and I closed my eyes. I was too sore and weak to cry, although that was what I wanted to do. My bloody head rested against Eric's chest, his arms around me protectively. Everything faded out again after that. I don't know how long I was out of it for. When I came to, Eric was kneeling over me, and wiping blood from my face with a warm rag. It took me a minute to remember where I was, and when I did, I tried to sit up.

"No lover, stay still." Eric said in a gentle voice that warmed me all over.

"Where's Bill?" I whispered.

"Andre has him. He'll be okay now." Eric's face was expressionless as he continued to clean me off.

"What happened?" I asked, since I couldn't recall.

"You were attacked by a shifter." Eric told me and then trailed fingers to my left shoulder. "And you were bitten by one of Lorena's nest mates. He is gone now."

"You staked him?" I would have widened my eyes if I could.

"No. His king has him. He will see the Magister for his offenses and I'm sure his punishment will be quite painful. Not only did he feed on a human, he fed on a human belonging to a sheriff." Eric explained to me.

"Good." I whispered, and Eric smiled. He liked it when I said things that were ruthless or cruel. I wasn't so sure it was a good thing but at the moment, I was in too much pain to feel any sort of sympathy for the vamp that had fed on me.

"You shouldn't have charged on like that, lover. It was quite foolish of you." Eric said in a way that was meant to sound like a reprimand but it sounded more like an apology.

"I saw a chance and I took it." I couldn't seem to get my voice above a whisper.

"You take too many a chances for a woman with a mortal life." Eric told me in a harsher tone.

"Oh good, she's awake." A woman I didn't recognize came into the room. I was just glad it wasn't Lorena. I didn't want to see her again for as long as I lived. "How is she?"

"She will be fine. I can heal her." Eric told the woman.

"Then do it." She ordered.

"I would rather wait until we are alone." Eric said, earning him a fang-filled smile from the woman standing over me.

She had eyes as bright blue as Eric's, and coppery red hair. "You're the one who pulled that shifter off of me, aren't you?"

"I am." She said, her eyes flashing at me. "We haven't met before but I have heard much about you." The woman said.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse." I identified myself, even though I was sure she already knew that.

"Yes, you certainly are." The woman leaned closer to me and licked some of the blood off my forehead, much to Eric's dismay. She would be able to track me now. Not good. "Delicious." She winked at Eric.

"Sookie, this is Sophie-Anne Leclerq." Eric told me but that meant nothing to me at the moment. "She is the queen of Louisiana."

I had a quick fantasy of my hands around her throat, squeezing until her head just popped off of her neck. So _this_ was the woman who was responsible for what Bill did to me. I hated her instantly. I found myself wishing she would end up stranded somewhere in the daytime without a place to rest. I just wanted her out of my sight. I felt my stomach turn and I thought I might be sick. I turned my face from hers and looked instead at Eric. He could feel my sadness and anger, I'm sure of that, and he sweetly touched my cheek to let me know he understood.

"Your majesty, might I have a few minutes alone with Sookie to explain her new circumstances?" Eric asked in an extremely polite tone.

"Sure." Sophie-Anne shrugged. "I should be heading back to New Orleans anyway. It's a long trip and we're running out of time. I hate Mississippi." She looked around Lorena's living room with disgust and then headed to the door. "We will see each other again, Miss Stackhouse."

"Not if I can help it." I whispered once the door closed behind her.

"That's the thing, lover, you can't." Eric informed me.

_Well shit_, I thought to myself, and closed my eyes.

* * *

Eric carried me from the SUV to the hotel room I'd spent the day in. He deposited me on one of the beds while he started the water for a bath. I just wanted to sleep but I suppose washing the blood off the side of my head would be a good idea. Not to mention, there was the rather painful bite on my shoulder. I now had an idea of what it was like to be bitten by a vampire who had no sexual ties to me and it wasn't something I would want to repeat. When Eric returned from the bathroom he sat down next to me on the bed. He removed his jacket and tossed it to the chair next to the bed. I watched as he bit his wrist and then held it out to me.

I really didn't want to take any more of his blood but I didn't see a way around it. It wasn't as though I could simply go to the hospital and tell the doctor that I was attacked by a shifter and bitten by a vampire. Biting a human against their will was a serious crime for a vampire and I would have to explain the circumstances under which I found myself at Lorena's in the first place. Already, Sophie-Anne and Russell (the king of Mississippi) were crafting a story to explain how Bill's car had come to be found on fire on the side of I-20 the week before. I sucked gently on the wound Eric had created and he moaned when I did it. When I lost my grip I flicked my tongue against the wound and his fangs ran out again. He certainly was turned on by what I was doing, although the last thing I was feeling was sexy.

He pulled his arm away when he was sure I'd had enough and already, I could feel the pain in my shoulder receding. My head started to clear up a little and I felt the wound on my head starting to close. I don't know what I had been hit with but it must have been heavy and sharp to cause a wound like the one I'd suffered. I stayed there until Eric pronounced me healed enough to get up. There was still pain in my shoulder but the wounds were now closed. I lifted my arms over my head so he could remove my shirt for me. He reached around behind me after that to unhook the bra I was wearing and that was when we discovered I had a second bite on my chest. It was on my left side as well, close to my heart.

"Do you remember how many times you were bitten, lover?" Eric touched the small wounds with the tips of his fingers. The coolness of his skin against mine made me shiver.

"No." I shook my head a little but stopped when I realized it hurt to do that.

"Can you stand?" He asked me.

I pushed off the bed on wobbly legs and he was immediately around the bed so I could lean on him. I left my arm around his waist while he unbuttoned my jeans for me. It wasn't until then that I realized how much blood I must have lost after being knocked out. I don't know if it was because of the blood I had just taken from Eric, or if it was because there was so much of it to smell, but the scent of my blood was overwhelming on him. For the first time I noticed that my blood _did_ have a different smell to it than everyone else's. It wasn't quite as metallic as other bloods.

"I can smell it." I said in a distant tone. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep.

"Smell what, lover?" Eric asked as he removed my shoes, socks, jeans and panties all in that order. While he was on his knees in front of me, he pressed a few kisses just below my belly button, but not any lower than that.

"The Fae." I looked down at him.

"Now you know why it is so hard to resist." Eric told me as he stood.

He picked me up and carried me to the bathroom. He put the stopper into the tub to let it fill. I checked the water to make sure it wasn't too hot, since vampires don't pay much attention to things like that. I was surprised to find it was a little cold for my liking and I turned the knob for the hot water. I brushed my teeth while I waited so I could get the taste of Eric's blood out of my mouth. I was used to the taste of Bill's blood but not Eric's. They were very different but I wondered if I would have noticed that if Eric hadn't just given me some of his.

"Eric?" I stopped suddenly and turned off the water in the sink.

"Yes lover?" He sat on the edge of the tub.

"You had some of my blood tonight, didn't you? I mean, after I was attacked." I asked him.

"A little." He confirmed. "But I did not bite you. I would not do such a thing when you are too weak to consent." He promised me and I knew he meant it.

"So you did the same thing as the queen, and licked at the blood that was spilled?"

"Yes." He looked at me curiously. "What are you asking me, Sookie?"

"I guess I'm just wondering if what happened tonight counts as an exchange. Bill told me once that an exchange only counts if it is in a certain amount of time." I leaned against the sink for support.

"What Bill told you is true. I am much older than Bill, though, so exchanges have a wider window of time to be completed. While it is true that I fed on you earlier this evening, I think too much time has passed for our bond to be increased now that you have had my blood." Eric said in a reassuring way.

"Why didn't you want to bite me when the queen was there?" I asked him.

"Because the urge to do more than bite you would have been overwhelming and I would not put you on display in such a fashion. You are too precious for that." Eric said as if I should know better.

"Oh." I looked to my feet.

I was standing there completely naked and bloodstained. The fact that Eric hadn't already jumped me spoke volumes about his self-control. All I was ever hearing was how vampires (well, at least Bill used to say it) have little control over themselves when they feel bloodthirsty. Here I was, the human Eric claimed to admire more than others, with the blood of a fairy coursing through me. Yet, aside from those few kisses in the other room, he hadn't made any advances on me whatsoever. He held his hand out to me and I took it. He helped me into the tub and then went about washing me off. I didn't mind just sitting there, letting him do what he wanted to do. I could trust him. I was sure of that.

He washed where I had been bitten and then he started on my face. He finished by washing my hair for me, and by the time he was done, I wondered what I ever could have hated about him. Sure he was ruthless when he needed to be but there was also something quite gentle underneath everything else. I thought of Shrek, and how he talked about having layers like an onion. Without realizing it, I had started giggling in the tub.

"What amuses you, lover?" Eric asked me as he rinsed my hair.

"You have layers like an onion." I said between giggles. I'm pretty sure Eric thought I was crazy.

By the time I got out of the tub, I was all wrinkled and about as clean as a person could get. Eric was nothing if not thorough. He wrapped a towel around my shoulders and then disappeared to retrieve my nightgown for me. I dried myself off and put on my nightgown. I sat on the edge of one of the beds and combed out my hair while Eric warmed a bottle of TrueBlood for himself in the little microwave on the edge of the long dresser. I wasn't in pain anymore but I was extremely tired. Eric hadn't even finished his bottle of blood when I was already passed out.

"Sookie, wake up." Eric ran a finger up and down the bridge of my nose. When my eyes opened he leaned in and kissed me gently. I had no idea how long I had been asleep for. For all I knew, it had been more than a day. I wouldn't be surprised.

"Is something wrong?" I asked quietly.

"No. There are only a few minutes before the sun is going to rise and I have a few things I need to tell you before I retire." Eric adjusted his body so he was leaning over me.

"Okay." I tried not to get nervous but it was hard not to. Whenever a vampire had an announcement to make, you could pretty much guarantee it wasn't something you would be excited about.

"As soon as you feel well enough, you should start back toward Bon Temps. The sooner we are back in our own territory, the better. You will be safe here, I assure you, but it is better for us to be in Louisiana." Eric started.

"Okay." I said again.

"I spoke with the queen a short time ago. Bill is recovering but he will have to stay in New Orleans for a few days. Lorena is still with Russell but she will be sent to the Magister when he is finished with her." Eric told me.

"Alright."

"Because the queen saved your life last night, it puts you in her debt." Eric was saving the best for last, of course.

"What does that mean? I'm not leaving my home or my job to do her bidding, Eric. I am thankful to her for what she did, but-"

"She will call on you for a favor. I do not know when or where but she will. Sophie-Anne always collects her debts, lover. There is nothing I can do to change this, or I would." He told me and I believed him.

Frankly, it was sweet of him to even suggest that he would assume a debt for me. "I can handle it, whatever she's going to want me to do." I wanted to sound tougher than I was, and Eric nodded at me.

"I'm sure you can." He squeezed my hand gently. "How is your head?"

"Better. I'm just really tired." I sighed.

"Your color is better this morning."

"Your blood is working then." I smiled faintly at him. "Thank you, Eric."

"For what? I was supposed to keep you safe."

"You got me out of there alive. Your blood will heal the rest." I tilted my face up and kissed him.

"I must go." His eyes told me he wanted to stay.

"I'll walk you out." I started to sit up.

"Stay." He urged.

"I have to lock the door behind you, remember?" I got up slowly and followed him to the door.

"Don't stay too long here, lover." He touched my shoulder where the bite had been the night before.

"I won't." I promised and opened the door of our room.

"If you have any trouble, call Fangtasia. My day man will know who to contact for help." Eric told me.

"Your day man?" I had no idea what he was talking about.

"His name is Bobby, and he handles the business I cannot during daytime hours. He is under strict orders to do anything you ask." Eric told me. "Don't be foolish if you sense trouble, Sookie. I will not be able to protect you in the day." He reminded me.

"Trust me, I'm not in the mood for fighting." I assured him.

He bent and kissed my head after opening the hatch of the SUV. "I will see you at sundown." He kissed my lips once and then a second time with a little more vigor. It got my heart racing and robbed me of my breath. He really didn't want to let me go but he didn't have a choice in the matter.

He pulled away from me and I stepped back so he could get into the coffin. I watched him slide into it a second time. When the lid clicked into place over him, I put the shelf back in the SUV and closed the hatch. I decided I would go back to sleep for another hour or two and then I would be on my way. The quicker I could get back to Louisiana, the better I would feel. Nothing helped to heal a girl like the comforts of her own home and I was certainly aching for mine.

I had a lot of time to think that day. I drove home listening to whatever was on Eric's iPod and I didn't recognize half of it. It was all beautiful music but the lyrics were in languages I didn't understand. I had no idea how many languages Eric spoke but I was sure he was fluent in just about everything in Europe. I knew he'd spoken Old Norse as a human, but now he spoke mostly modern Swedish when he talked with Pam. I thought I'd overheard him talk about time he spent in France, so I assumed he also spoke French. Eric had an expanse of knowledge I could never hope to touch. It amazed me that he had been there to witness many of the things I could only read about. I wonder what it might have been like to witness the second World War or the Crusades. I knew he'd been a warrior in his human life but I didn't know if he had ever been married, or if he'd had children.

I tried to imagine the Eric I knew as a father. Just the thought of him with an infant gave me nightmares but I don't suppose he would have drained his own infant dry when he was a human. If he _had_ been married, had it been hard to leave his wife behind? I was nowhere near close to being Mrs. Eric Northman, but I would think that if he just up and left me for no reason, never to return, I'd be pretty heartbroken about it. Especially at a time like the one Eric had been human in. From what I remember of Scandinavian history at that time, the Vikings weren't exactly cuddly kittens. Leaving his wife unspoken for could result in atrocities and savage assaults. If he had come back, he certainly wouldn't have returned to the same woman he'd left behind.

My mind turned from the gaps in Eric's personal history to the favor I now owed the queen of Louisiana. Given that I felt like I was in Mississippi cleaning up her mess in the first place, I wasn't exactly happy about being made to feel like I owed her anything. If she had just left Bill to his crazy Maker, he wouldn't have come home to Louisiana and ruined not only _my_ life, but Lorena's as well. As far as I was concerned, Lorena could have him now. Although, Lorena would have killed him if I hadn't shown up. I saved Bill's life. Again. But what good had that done me? Yes, it clears my conscience some to know that I did the right thing but what if Sophie-Anne asks for something I cannot give her?

I will not give up my life in Bon Temps. It may seem like a waste to a vampire but I like my life. I like my job. I like my friends. I like my hometown. I like my house. I like being free to do what I want, when I want. Signing myself over to Sophie-Anne would be like signing my own death warrant. Contrary to some of the crazy things I have done since meeting Bill, I don't actually have a death wish. I would like very much to live a long and happy life. That won't happen if I get involved with Sophie-Anne.

But refusing to do what she asks could come back to bite Eric in the ass and he only got involved because I made a deal with him. I can't blame him for my situation. I could have just dropped the whole thing and let the fates deal with Bill. Instead, I got in over my head and I acted a little impulsively. Gran would have said I got a little big for my britches and she would have been right. That's a hard thing for me to admit but it's the truth. I acted foolishly. Eric was right about that.

I started thinking about all of the things I'd been through since I met Bill. I always thought that it was meeting a vampire that brought danger into my life and maybe that was partially true. But I started to realize that living a more dangerous life had caused me to make more reckless decisions. I was used to having Bill around to reign me in when I let my mouth start writing checks my body couldn't cash. He was good about it and far more patient than he probably should have been. It wasn't right for me to expect Eric to protect me because I didn't know when to keep my mouth shut. At the rate I was going, I was going to do something that would get me into so much trouble that no one could get me out of it.

In fact, I was pretty sure I had already crossed that line. The last thing I'd wanted was to end up in debt to the queen but that was precisely where I was. I hadn't been thinking very clearly about the consequences of my actions because I was used to someone else absorbing them for me. But this time, I would have to pay my debts. Because I cared for Eric, I would do what she asked of me with as little complaint as possible. But after that, I was going to need a break from vampires altogether. I would need some time to just be Sookie again. No near death experiences or complicated blood bonds to trip me up. I just wanted to be simple again. I missed it.

So I called for a cab, rather than waiting for Eric to rise and bring me back to Bon Temps. I called Sam since I wasn't sure of who else I could count on to come get me. An hour later, he met me in Fangtasia's parking lot. "What's wrong, Sook?" He asked me when he saw me.

"It's a long story. I just want to go home and get some sleep." I rubbed my eyes.

"Okay." Sam nodded, and I was thankful he was letting it go for the moment.

I slept the whole way back to Bon Temps.

* * *

**I'll be posting at least one more chapter today. Two if you're really, really nice to me. Thanks for reading!**


	21. Love Will Tear Us Apart

Chapter Twenty One: Love Will Tear Us Apart

By the time I got done explaining the whole thing to Sam, he wasn't feeling too badly for me, but he was taking his anger out on Eric. "Well what good is he, Sookie, if he can't protect you? The sex can't be that great." Sam glared at me.

I wanted to say, "Clearly you've never had sex with Eric." But I knew that wouldn't come out right and it would only further anger Sam. So instead, I said, "He did the best he could. Besides, it's not his fault, Sam. I'm a big girl. I make my decisions. I didn't have to go charging into that basement any more than I had to go to Mississippi at all. And for your information, Eric _did_ try to talk me out of it. He warned me that it was a bad idea."

"Well, Sook, I gotta tell ya, when a vamp says that something is a bad idea, they're probably right." Sam shook his head in disbelief. "So what does Sophie-Anne want from you in return for her saving your life?"

"I don't know." I shrugged and hugged my knees to my chest.

"Unbelievable." Sam sighed and began to pace my living room. "What if she wants you to move to New Orleans?"

"I won't do it." I said adamantly. "I appreciate what she did, but I won't give up my life here to pay her back for it. She'd be crazy to even ask me."

"You said she had your blood right?" Sam asked.

"Unfortunately. I was a little too weak to dodge out of the way and there was nothing Eric could do to stop her." I sighed.

"So that makes three vamps who can track you now?" Sam narrowed his eyes in my direction.

"Yep." I nodded. If Sam thought _he_ was unhappy, he should have tried walking in my shoes for a few minutes.

"So why'd you call me to come get you?" Sam asked and took a seat on my Gran's old coffee table.

"Because I realized that I need some space from it all." I wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging them close to me. "I care about Eric...a lot. I miss him when he's not around and every time I look at him, I feel my heart ache in a good way. He's been good to me, Sam, whether you want to believe it or not. He's not the monster Bill made him out to be. At least, he's not that way with me."

"Then why do you need space?" Sam didn't really want to hear the reasons. Just the idea that I might be in love with Eric was enough to make Sam utterly disappointed with me.

"Because the more time I spend with the vampires, the more I seem to think like one. I don't feel human anymore when I'm around them." I hadn't said the words out loud to anyone else and I was afraid that if I told Eric those things he would laugh at me.

While it was true that he cared about me more than he had any other human in a very, very long time, he still felt that vampires were quite superior to humans in every capacity. He wouldn't understand why feeling like a human was a good thing, or why it was so important to me. I was convinced that if I changed my mind and told him that I wanted to be a vampire he wouldn't hesitate to bring me over. Then he could have me for eternity and not just until my mortal body gave out. While I will admit there was somewhat of a thrill to that notion, it wasn't enough to make me want to be one of _them_. I liked being a human too much to give it up.

There were too many things I wanted to experience as a human that I would never be able to do as a vampire. While it was true that Eric could show me the world, he would have to do it under the moonlight and I was far more interested in the things the sun had to offer me. Besides, who's to say that Eric would still find me as appealing if I were to change over? A big part of who I was had to do with my human status.

"Do you love him, Sookie?" Sam asked me, pulling me out of my reverie.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Well, you better figure that out before you go making any more decisions." Sam advised.

I had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

I was just getting all snuggled into my bed for the night when I felt Eric getting closer to me. I pulled on my robe and went out to the porch. I was sitting on the steps when he dropped from the sky a few minutes later. He looked about as melancholy as I was feeling, but he didn't sit down next to me. He stood over me, his skin glowing and his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. He looked so beautiful standing there, and I was happy to see him. As confused as I was feeling, being closer to him still made me feel good. _Do you love him, Sookie?_, I heard Sam's voice echoing in my brain and I tried to push it away. I didn't want to think about that at the moment.

"You didn't wait for me." Eric's voice was blank.

"No, I didn't." I found it hard to look at him.

"You feel guilty. Why?" He sat down next to me.

My eyes welled with tears. I didn't want to say what I had to say, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. "Eric, I really appreciate everything you have done for me in the last few weeks. You have been incredibly generous, which I wasn't expecting. You have been kind. You have been patient. You have been the exact opposite of everything I expected you would be."

"You have not answered my question, lover." There was a hard edge to Eric's voice. His patience was thinning.

"I need a break." I told him.

"A break?" He looked over at me. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I need a little time away from you and from every vampire I know to figure some things out. I think maybe I rushed into being with you because I felt badly about what happened with Bill and I don't want to be with you just because I'm afraid of being alone, or because there's some silly bond between us that tells me to do it. I want to be with you because it's what I want deep in my soul." I told Eric.

"I don't believe you." Eric shook his head. "I can feel what you are feeling, Sookie. The bond works both ways, remember?"

"Eric, I-"

"You asked me to be honest with you and I have done my best to be just that. I may not tell you everything I know, but I swear to you that what I _do_ tell you is the truth." Eric told me.

"Except for that time in Dallas when you told me you would die if I didn't suck that bullet out of your chest, right?" I snickered. I didn't know why I was being mean to him.

"And if I am not mistaken, you already had feelings for me. I don't think I had to push all that hard to get you to do it." Eric reminded me and I hated how smug he was being.

"So that makes it okay?" I got up and turned toward my house, but Eric was already blocking my doorway. Never try to race a vampire. It's just not worth it.

"You are punishing me for _your_ recklessness. How is that fair, lover?" Eric asked me.

"I never said it was fair." I shrugged and realized that he was feeling the same way.

There was an overwhelming desire right then and there to tackle him on my porch, tear his clothes off and do all sorts of dirty things to him, and it was all because Eric was thinking he wouldn't mind doing those same things to me. Well, at least that's what I was feeling from him. There was a part of me (and I know exactly which part that was) that was seriously considering doing just that. But I let my brain do the leading this time and my brain told me that a relationship that was worth fighting for had to be about more than just orgasms. I had never been the kind of girl who thought casual sex was a good idea and I certainly wasn't about to start thinking that way now, even if I couldn't stop staring at Eric's hands, or imagining the way they felt on my skin.

I shook the feeling out of my head and I wondered if maybe Eric was toying with me. I wanted to reach for the doorknob, but that would mean I would have to touch him. I knew if I touched him, my resolve to just go inside and get some sleep would completely fade away. I would end up a puddle underneath him on my front porch and I was sure that was the quickest way to lose whatever self-respect I had left at the moment.

"Eric I need to go inside." I looked at the creaky old boards under our feet.

Much to my surprise and a little to my disappointment, Eric stepped out of the way. I put my hand on the doorknob and turned it gently. I was hoping he would say something to make me change my mind about all of this. I don't know what I wanted him to say, exactly, but I wanted him to say something. He'd always seemed to be the kind of man who needed to have the last word in an argument and it deflated me when he kept silent.

I was just about to walk into the house when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. Before I could stop him, he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me hard. There was an immediate longing for him in other parts of me. He released me a minute later, leaving me dazed and wanting him. He looked at me for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

"I will stay away until you summon me. You have my word." He said and then took flight from my front porch.

I went inside and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

I moved in a fog for the next few days. I was missing Eric terribly and there had been many times when I'd wanted to call him just to hear the sound of his voice. I didn't, of course, because I still didn't know what to say to him. I was pulling up to my house when I was coming home from work one night when I saw Bill making his way out of the woods behind my house. I took my time getting out of the car, but he stood there patiently by the back door, waiting for me. I took a few deep breaths as I approached him. Here was my chance to say all of the things I'd been wanting to say since I'd left Vermont, and all of them flew out of my brain.

"You look healed." I tried not to sound relieved.

"You saved my life, Sookie. I don't know why but you did." Bill looked at me with earnest appreciation.

"I saved your life because I couldn't have lived with myself any other way." I told him.

"I know that I hurt you, Sookie, and if I could make amends for it, I assure you, I would spend the rest of my life trying to do that." He was being sincere.

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth, Bill? That's what I don't understand. After everything we'd been through and all of the secrets I shared with you about my life, I don't understand how you could just keep something like that from me. And then to ask me to marry you on top of it? What were you thinking?" My purse fell off my shoulder and landed in the crook of my elbow.

"Sookie, I have no excuses for what I've done. I did what I did because I was asked to do it by the queen. I was not given a choice. But, once I realized how special you were, I didn't care about the mission anymore. I cared about you. I really do love you, Sookie. I swear to you that I never lied about that." Bill stepped closer to me. "I did not tell you the truth about my reasons for returning to Bon Temps because I thought it would put you in danger to know."

"Just being with you was dangerous, Bill. When it was just you and me living our quiet little lives here, it was fine, but that never lasted for long. You have responsibilities and obligations that you can't turn your back on because of what you are. I understand that. But it doesn't just effect you when you are given an order by someone, whether it's Eric or the queen, or anyone else. I thought we were a team. But I can't marry someone that I don't trust." I told played with my keys as I talked.

"Sookie I came here tonight to ask for your forgiveness. I do not expect it to come easily, or in the near future, but I hope that someday you will know that I am sorry for the ways I have wronged you. I asked you to marry me because I see a future for us and not because I was told to." He told me.

I stopped for a second. It had never even occurred to me that he might have been ordered to propose to me, but it got the wheels in my head turning. He had just come back from a conference with the queen. Maybe Sophie-Anne had told him marriage would be the thing that would tip the scales once and for all in his favor. I was sure then that Bill had known all along that I had been with Eric in Dallas. Was this his revenge? I felt my stomach flop and before I knew it, I was throwing up in my Gran's begonias.

Bill was at my side immediately, his cool hand stroking my back. I heaved until there was nothing left and then I shook him off of me. "Stay away from me, Bill." I said as I marched up the steps to the back door.

Not two minutes later my purse was buzzing. I had a text message. _Are you sick? I can come if you need me._ It was from Eric. I sighed and put the phone down on the counter. I wanted to call him and tell him all about the conversation I'd just had with Bill. I wanted to tell him about Missy Donovan and Kurt Singleton getting engaged in the bar the day before. I wanted to tell him that I'd heard a song on the jukebox that made me think of him. I wanted to tell him that he was the first thing I thought of when I woke up and his was the last face I saw before I went to sleep. But I knew if I picked up the phone to call him, I would tell him to come to Bon Temps. He would do what I asked and when I woke up alone in the morning, I would be right back where I started.

When I didn't answer his texts, he started to call. My heart cracked and when I listened to his voice mail, I started crying again. Staying away from Eric was much harder than I had imagined it would be. I thought I could just shut him out of my mind the way I did with people's thoughts, but it wasn't that simple. He had a much stronger hold on me than I'd realized. The crazy thing is, I was sure it had nothing to do with the bond we shared. The hold he had was on my heart and that was something the bond couldn't really change. The bond could make me desire him and make me feel attracted to him, but it couldn't make me- dare I say it- love him.

Finally, to put a stop to the calls and texts, I called the bar. "Fangtasia, the bar with bite. How may I help you?" Pam's sultry voice greeted me over the loud music.

"Pam, it's Sookie." I said warily.

"I will put you through to Eric." She said.

"No!" I said quickly. "Will you please just tell him that I'm fine and he doesn't need to check up on me anymore tonight."

"Lover's quarrel?" She snickered, wounding me without intending to. Eric hadn't told her anything, I was sure about that.

"We're just...I just need some time." I said sadly.

"Humans." Pam said in a way that allowed me to see her rolling her eyes without looking at her.

"It's not that simple." I said it more for my benefit than hers.

"It never is, lilla docka." She sighed.

"Lilla what?"

"Nevermind. I will tell Eric that you do not require any further assistance." She hung up before I could respond.

* * *

The next day I was out front raking leaves in my yard when another dress was delivered, only this one was much fancier than the others. It was white and backless and looked like the sort of dress you'd expect to see a movie star wearing to the Oscars or some fancy premiere party. Why Eric thought I'd need a dress like this one, I had no idea. I had half a mind to send it back to the store, but Gran had always told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wasn't going to be rude to Eric on top of everything else.

It occurred to me, as I was standing out in my yard shoving leaves into large paper bags, that I was being a bit of a hypocrite. I'd saved Bill because I couldn't let him suffer even though he'd hurt me. I'd managed to feel some sort of compassion for him in spite of the pain he'd caused. While it was true Eric had done a few things here and there to get under my skin, he had definitely done me more good than harm. So why was I being so hard on him?

I was still thinking about that later on that evening when he showed up at my house. I could feel him coming closer and closer to me and by the time he arrived, I was nearly giddy. I opened the door for him and even invited him inside, though he no longer required an invitation to come into my home. I'd thought about rescinding his invitation, but I didn't. I had rescinded Bill's, though. We both stood in the doorway for a minute and I had a strong urge to just collapse against him. I knew if I did, he would hold me up for as long as I wanted him to. I just wanted to be next to him for a while.

"I am sorry to bother you, Sookie." He apologized without saying hello.

"It's no bother." I moved out of the way so he could come inside.

"I won't stay long." He told me. "In fact, I wouldn't be here at all if it weren't a business related matter."

"Sophie-Anne, right?" I closed the door and followed Eric to the living room.

He sat down on the sofa and I wanted to cuddle up next to him while he talked. He sat in such a way that would make it very easy for me to curl up at his side and I could practically feel the weight of his arm closing around me. But I kept my distance. How? I don't know. It was hard, let me tell you. I took a seat in what had been Gran's favorite chair.

"So, what does she want from me?" I asked him.

"In your time together, did Bill ever mention the Summit to you?" Eric leaned forward when he realized I wasn't going to cuddle with him. He was as disappointed as I was. At that moment, I missed the Eric I'd known who didn't have feelings for anyone but himself. I was resenting our bond in a big way.

"No, I don't think so." I shook my head slowly.

"It's a large meeting of various vampires in a position of authority. It is attended by the king or queen of each state, along with their appointed Sheriffs. The Sheriffs are then allotted a certain number of guests. The king or queen can bring as many personal guests as they choose. Most of the humans in attendance at this event will be there as companions of the various Sheriffs or Heads of State. The queen is requesting that you be her guest." Eric informed me.

"Why?" It was the obvious question to ask.

"Because you are in her debt." That was the obvious answer.

"I know, but what does she expect me to do at this Summit?" I asked him.

"The queen has been accused of selling her blood for profit. That is something vampires frown upon. There will be a trial." Eric explained to me.

"Eric, you know I can't read vampire minds." I pointed out.

"You won't need to, lover. You will be reading the minds of the humans who claim to have bought from her. They will be the guests of the king of Nevada." Eric told me.

"The king of Nevada?" I arched an eyebrow. "Why would Sophie-Anne sell blood to people from Nevada?"

"That is what she is hoping you can tell the court. She could lose her thrown for this, Sookie. This is serious business." Eric said in a stern tone.

"What if I refuse to do this?" I asked him, knowing full well I didn't have a choice.

"She will find a clever way to make your death look like an accident." Eric said and then quickly crossed the room to me.

He leaned over my chair so that his face was just inches from mine. He inhaled deeply, which was something he rarely ever did. "I miss your smell." He whispered.

"Eric..."

"Yield to me, Sookie." He put his fingers under my chin and tilted my face to his. He brushed his lips against mine and I felt my insides starting to melt.

"Tell the queen that I will go to the Summit." I said with a quivering voice. I grabbed Eric's wrist to make sure I had his attention. "But I am going as _your_ guest, not hers." I insisted.

"I think that can be arranged, lover." He kissed me once more and then left because I hadn't asked him to stay.

* * *

***quirks eyebrow* Soooo...are they back together or not? Hmmm...Well, they've got 14 chapters to work it out. Thanks for reading!**


	22. The World Is Not Enough

Okay, this is going to be the last chapter I post tonight. It's an extra long one and it was my favorite to write in this entire story. You're going to want to kill me by the end of it. Believe me, my Eric muse wasn't happy with me either. **Stephaniesmeow**, I hope this was worth batting those eyelashes for.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two: The World Is Not Enough

The hotel in Rhodes was even more impressive than the one in Dallas. Eric had been able to get me on the guest list as _his_ guest instead of Sophie-Anne's. He was easily the lesser of two evils, but I hadn't expected that would mean rooming with him while we were in Rhodes. I wondered if Sophie-Anne had done that on purpose, or if Eric had requested it be that way. I would have been more upset about it, but I figured it probably wouldn't be such a bad thing to have a vampire in my room in case something not so good happened. At least I could trust Eric. Hell, I was just thankful I hadn't been put in a room with Bill. Even Pam would have been a better option than Bill.

After Eric had left my house when he'd come to tell me about the Summit, I figured out what the fancy white dress was for. I packed it carefully, along with all of the necessary other items. In addition to Sophie-Anne's trial, there would also be a wedding for Russell, the king of Mississippi, and Bart Crow, the king of Indiana. And of course, there was the big party the last night of the Summit. There would be other meetings and things that I wouldn't be needed for, so I would have time to walk around Rhodes if I chose to do such a thing, but I wasn't sure that was such a good idea. I had no idea where Lorena was lurking, and the last thing I wanted was for her to have a chance to get her fangs in me.

"So, which side of the bed would you prefer to sleep on, lover?" Eric asked me once we were in our room.

There were two beds in the room, and I pointed to the one closer to the window. "I'll take that one, since it's closer to the window. I'll be sleeping in it alone." I told him.

He smiled at me, and I could practically hear him say, "That's what you say now."

I knew all it would take was for him to walk out of the shower completely naked like it was no big deal (of course for him it wouldn't be), and I would probably be changing my tune. I unpacked the things that needed to be hung up, but I left my new dress in the bag it had been delivered in. Eric flopped back on his bed, landing with his hands under his head and his ankles neatly crossed. He was wearing jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off all of the goodies I knew to be hiding underneath it. I bit my lower lip, and tried to figure out what to do with myself.

Our plane had arrived in Rhodes shortly after sunset, and Eric didn't sleep in a coffin unless he had to, so he hadn't bothered to bring one along to the hotel. There was no need for it with the room being light tight. When the sun began to rise, all he had to do was push a button to bring down shades that would make the room vampire friendly. I wondered just how late I would sleep in the morning. Of course, that would depend on how late Eric managed to keep me up that night. I finished unpacking, and then went to the windows to look out at the city below.

The hotel had fifteen floors of rooms, and the higher up you were, the nicer your room. Sophie-Anne's room was on the fourth floor. There were only four suites up there. The room I was staying in with Eric was on the ninth floor. The fifteenth floor, which was the floor right above the lobby, was generally for human guests. That's where I would have been staying if I hadn't been given a room with Eric. I was just about to turn and say something to Eric when a somewhat familiar voice probed in my brain.

_Sookie, you here? It's me, Barry. We met in Dallas._

_Of course I remember you, Barry. You're the only one I've ever met with our condition. What brought you here to Rhodes?_

_The king of Texas. I work for him now._

_How's that going?_

_I can't complain too much. I'm protected, and the job pays much better than the hotel gig ever did, or ever would. So you're still working for the vamps in Louisiana, huh?_

_It's complicated._

My conversation was interrupted by Eric's lips on my neck, and other parts of him decidedly pressing against my lower back. His hands encircled my waist for a brief moment before moving up my sides. I gasped at the feeling of his hands on my breasts, and his fangs nipping at my ear.

_Sookie, you okay? Where'd you go?_

_Hey Barry, now's not a good time to talk. Can I meet you tomorrow morning for breakfast? _

_That'd be fine. It'd be nice to see you again._

_Likewise. I'll see you in the morning then._ Just like that, I clamped down on my brain, and turned to face Eric. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

He pulled my shirt up over my head, and stared down at my body for a minute before sinking to his knees. He unzipped the side of my skirt, and worked it free from my hips. He planted light kisses from one hip to the other before looking up at me with lust in his eyes. "Worshiping you." He said in a throaty voice that made me break out in goose bumps.

"Eric, this isn't a good idea." I know my mouth said it, but none of our four ears believed it.

"What were you doing just now? You gave off the most delicious vibrations." Eric said between kisses on my stomach, hips, pelvis and thighs. My breath caught, making it hard for me to answer him.

"Talking to Barry." I gasped when I felt his breath where my panties once were.

"Barry?" He looked up at me with curiosity instead of jealousy.

"The bellboy from Dallas. He works for the king of Texas now." I inhaled sharply when fingers started probing gently between my slightly parted legs.

"Interesting." Eric said, although I don't think he was talking about Barry at all.

That was the last thing either of us said for a while, but words were no longer necessary. Eric was generally a little more controlled during sex, from all I could tell from the experiences I'd had with him. The exception, of course, being that quickie in the hall at the airport when we'd returned from Dallas. I was starting to wonder if there was something about traveling that made Eric a little more frisky than usual. I'd felt his eyes heavy on me while we were waiting for our car to take us from the airport to the hotel. I had intentionally taken a seat as far away from him as possible so that he wouldn't try to grope me on the way to the hotel.

_So much for keeping my distance_, I thought as I laid back on the extremely comfortable bed, and pulled him down on top of me. I wasn't feeling all that patient. While it was true it had only been a little over a week since the last time Eric and I had been together, it was a whole week without Eric. I realized right then that that was the longest I ever wanted to go without him again. I felt his fangs against my throat, and everything in me just relaxed. While there was nothing about sex with Eric that was predictable, I knew I was in good hands, so to speak.

Our bodies were all tangled up, and I had just grabbed that sexy behind of his to pull him inside of me when there was a knock at the door. "Ignore it." I urged, and moved my hips up to his.

"Sheriff, the queen requires your presence immediately." Andre said from the other side of the door. "And bring your human."

"Yes, Andre." Eric muttered, and pulled away from me.

"What? No. Where are you going?" I sat up and stared at Eric as he started to pull on his clothing.

"The queen has requested we join her. We must go." Eric didn't look any happier about it than I did.

"Right now? We can't wait ten minutes?" I scrambled off the bed, and Eric handed me my clothes.

"No, lover, we cannot. But we can pick this up where we left off when we return." He promised me, and planted a kiss on my forehead before leaning against the dresser to wait for me to finish dressing.

"You know I really, really hate the queen." I groaned as I pulled on a pair of jeans.

Eric was staring at me with a lusty anger in his eyes to see what he considered to be a playground being covered over. He muttered something in Swedish, and then held his hand out to me when I was dressed. When he slipped his hand in the back pocket of my jeans, it took all the self-restraint I had not to jump him in the elevator.

* * *

I was in a large room mostly full of vampires I either didn't know, or didn't want to know. Bill was fully recovered from the torture he'd suffered at Lorena's hands, and he was looking at me with an obvious sense of longing and regret. I knew it wasn't nice to gloat when someone else was feeling so miserable, but Bill had put himself in this position. Although, it was hard to say that he would be any better off right now if he had told me the truth a lot sooner. There was a part of me that said his reasons for wanting to meet me shouldn't matter. The important thing was that we'd met, and I had been able to give a piece of myself to someone else, which is something I had never been able to do before. What I couldn't get away from was all of the deception that followed. I would always wonder how sincere he was when he told me how he felt. Would he always be trying to get back in my good graces simply to appease his queen?

I pulled my eyes away from his, and wondered where Eric had disappeared to. He had been kept in the queen's suite until almost sunrise. I had been too tired to stay, and since the queen didn't require my presence, I returned to our room to sleep. I'd heard the sound of the shades lowering to make the room light tight, and I'd felt it when Eric got into bed next to me. He'd hugged me close to him, and to let him know I knew he was there, I'd pulled his arm over me. I'd slept until Barry's voice popped into my brain to remind me we had plans to meet for breakfast.

Seeing him had been good. We'd caught up on the things that had happened since I'd been in Dallas. He found he liked working for the king of Texas. Finding out that vampires saw value in his gift had done wonders for his self-esteem, and I could relate to that feeling. My ability had always felt more like a liability than it did an asset, but that changed after I met Eric. It had hit me during breakfast that Eric was the first one to really appreciate my gift for what it was. While it was true he wanted to harness it for his own use, he had never tried to abuse the privilege, or make me do something I didn't want to do. His requests, while annoying, had never been unreasonable. I felt my resolve to keep away from him weaken a little bit more.

But that was nearly twelve hours ago. Now I was sitting beside Cleo, another of the sheriffs from Louisiana, and looking around the room for Eric. I didn't see him anywhere, and he had been gone by the time I'd returned to our room. While I was in the shower he'd sent me a text message to tell me he was with the queen, and would have to meet me down in the conference room after the wedding. I'd never been to a vampire wedding before. Cleo was kind enough to explain to me that most vampire weddings were a business partnership between states. What Russell and Bart were doing was rare. Not because they were men, but because they were marrying for love. They were genuinely head over heels, one hundred percent crazy about each other.

Once everyone was seated, the room fell absolutely silent. A figure appeared from the side of the room, cloaked in black. White hands appeared from under the cloak to pull back the hood. The hood fell on broad shoulders to reveal shining blond hair. The figure turned around, and I covered my mouth to extinguish the gasp that was about to escape. It was Eric. He was wearing black from head to toe, and he looked beautiful. It's strange to call a man like Eric beautiful, but that's precisely what he was at the moment. I was captivated by him. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, which was bad, because I was actually intrigued by the prospect of being witness to a vampire wedding. I figured this was probably a ritual that most humans would never see, and I felt a little honored that I was being allowed to witness it.

Russell and Bart entered my peripheral vision, but my ears were focused solely on the sound of Eric's voice, and the gestures his hands made. Of course, this was a blood ritual, being that it was a vampire wedding. Eric produced a knife from somewhere inside his cloak, and slashed each of the vampire's wrists. Their blood flowed slowly into a chalice they both drank from after repeating their vows. They then signed their marital contract before the entire gathering. The signing was witnessed specifically by Sophie-Anne, who was signing for Russel, and the queen of Michigan, who was signing for Bart. The ceremony was then sealed with a kiss the likes of which I had never seen a couple engage in in public. Fangs ran out all over the room, and there was an undeniable lust filling the air. When my eyes found their way back to Eric's, I felt my entire body shake.

After the wedding was over, it was announced the trials would be commencing in an hour. Sophie-Anne Leclerq was the biggest fish to fry that night, but there were other vampires who were going to be sentenced for their crimes as well. I was delighted to find out that Lorena was one of those vampires. Her case had been presented to the Magister, but he had decided to let it go to the Summit, since it was so soon approaching. Eric and I were heading back to our room so he could change clothes. He was wearing a black body suit underneath the cloak. If I'd thought he looked delicious in the spandex Pam had dressed him in, I was wrong. This was much better. Between the pulsating lust in the conference room during the wedding, and all of Eric's blood still coursing through my body after he'd healed me the week before, I couldn't think of anything else but getting in bed with him.

We walked into the elevator together, and he pressed me against the wall after I pushed the button for our floor. "I felt you watching me, lover." He whispered in my ear before kissing my neck, making my insides shiver. "I could smell you from the platform, and all I could think about was how badly I want to fuck you."

_Ohmygosh_, I said to myself, my heart pounding hard in my chest. That spandex left little room for doubt, and he was rubbing up against me in a way that let me know he was all kinds of serious. My hands found their way back to his butt, pulling him closer to me as his kisses deepened. We didn't have much time before we had to be back downstairs for the trials, but we wouldn't need long. Eric was ready to go, and I wasn't far from it myself. The elevator jolted to a stop at the ninth floor, and the doors opened.

"There you are." Andre stood before us with a devilish smile on his face.

"Andre." Eric nodded.

"Miss Stackhouse, you're looking lovely this evening. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Andre said, knowing full well that he was.

"What can we do for you, Andre?" Eric asked, figuring it was best to get to the point. I couldn't have agreed more.

"I have been sent to make sure Miss Stackhouse is appropriately aligned with our party." Andre produced a small knife, and that's when I noticed he was all fangs.

"Aligned?" I looked from Andre to Eric.

"Bonded." Eric glared at Andre, and I could feel anger rolling off of him. Not only had Andre found us at the worst possible moment, but he was now trying to insinuate himself in my life in a permanent way.

"You want me to bond with you?" I asked incredulously.

"We need to be sure of your loyalties, Miss Stackhouse. A bond will tell us if you are being truthful." He explained.

"I'm not a liar. You will get the truth from me. You have my word." I insisted.

"I'm afraid that isn't good enough. The queen has many enemies, and since it has been brought to our attention that you are no longer Mr. Compton's human, we cannot be sure of where your loyalties fall." Andre was staring at the knife in his hand as if he had never seen it before.

"Then allow her to bond herself to me. I have tasted her before, and as someone who has sworn himself to the queen, I can assure you she will be truthful." Eric spoke up on my behalf.

"Is she your human now, Sheriff?" Andre looked from me to Eric with amusement on his face.

"Sookie?" Eric looked to me to answer that question. I knew my answer would decide which vampire I was going to be bonded to. I was already tied to Eric. What could exchanging blood one more time really do to me?

"I am his." I said pointedly, staring hard at Andre.

"It would be best if you were to give yourself to me." Andre completely disregarded my statement, and I could tell he was trying to use his influence on me.

"That doesn't work on me." I laughed.

"What?" Andre shook himself.

"You can glamour me all night long if you want, but it won't work. And we both know that you can't bite me without my consent. So either Eric does it, or I walk." If the vampires wanted to play hardball, then I would too. Something about being this close to Eric made me braver than I would have been on my own. While it was true I was indebted so Sophie-Anne, I thought that sitting in on her trial was enough to pay her back. I wasn't prepared to let this bloodsucker have an intimate window into my life. Nosir, wasn't going to happen.

Andre snarled at me, completely dissatisfied with my threat, but then he smiled wryly at Eric. "She is a strong one."

"Indeed she is." Eric agreed.

"Fine. You're up, Viking." Andre handed Eric the knife he was holding.

"Here?" I looked up and down the hallway. We were just a few feet away from our room.

"Yes. I must be able to tell the queen I was witness to it." Andre told me.

I looked at Eric, who looked displeased with this. But, since he had already bargained Andre down, he knew this wasn't something Andre would be willing to compromise on. Either I let Eric bite me here, or I would have to deal with the queen's wrath. The last time I had been bitten when I wasn't on the cusp of an orgasm, I'd been left in pain for days. I knew that Eric would be as gentle with me as he possibly could, in spite of how turned on he was at the moment. I also knew that tasting me would only make it harder for him to control himself. He lifted the side of his cloak to shield me some from Andre. It was the most privacy we were going to get. I was just thankful there was no one else in the hallway.

He kissed me gently and said, "This will be over quick."

I nodded, and then turned my head to left so the right side of my neck was exposed. The left side was still a little tender from the vicious bites I'd suffered the week before. He kissed my neck for a minute, and I felt myself relax a little. For a minute, I forgot that Andre was standing on the other side of the cloak, waiting for the exchange to be made. I put my hands on Eric's well-defined hips, and made the smallest noise when his fangs sank into my neck. I felt an unexpected jolt of pleasure low in my pelvis, and I knew Eric was feeling it too. I was breathless by the time he was done licking my neck. He hovered over me for just a moment to give me time to collect myself. Biting his wrist would have been a little awkward if I was going to keep my privacy, so I held up the cloak for Eric while he shrugged out of the top half of his body suit. Chiseled muscles revealed themselves to me, and my heart skipped a beat. He put the knife in his other hand, and took back the cloak.

I touched the cool flesh of his chest, and I felt him shudder just a little bit under my fingers. I could hear him in my brain, the words he'd said in the elevator repeating over and over again. He made a small cut just under his nipple, and I waited until I saw the blood start to ooze before putting my mouth to his chest. The second my lips touched him, he groaned. I sucked on the wound, knowing that if I didn't, it would close in just a few seconds instead of a minute. The harder I sucked the more he groaned. And by the time I was finished, there was a small wet spot on my dress. When I looked up at Eric, he was starry-eyed and about as happy as I'd ever seen him.

"Excellent. I will report back to the queen. We'll see you at the trial." Andre said, and then went down the stairs.

I stood there shaking my head, and was caught off guard when Eric grabbed me and kissed me. "Thank you for that, lover."

"Yeah sure." I was feeling just as stunned as he was, but for very different reasons. I wasn't feeling so sexy anymore after that exchange. A line had just been crossed, and it was a reminder of where I was, and who I was dealing with. I left Eric standing there in the hall, trying to get himself together, while I went on to our room to change my dress.

* * *

The trial Lorena was facing would be decided by a jury of five vampires from various states. They would hear the facts of the case, as would the rest of us, to determine what Lorena's punishment should be. Eric explained to me that vampires were very much into the 'eye for an eye' mentality, so it was entirely possible that Lorena could be forced to suffer what had been done to Bill. Frankly, I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear all of the methods she had used to torture him. But, since I had to be present for the queen's trial, I had no choice but to hear it all.

Bill was called as the first witness to give his account of what had happened. "I was in Vermont when Lorena found me. I had just been through another matter with someone who I loved very much, and it did not go the way I had hoped." Bill paused to look at me regretfully, and I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at him. Though I _did_ appreciate his attempts to leave my name out of it.

"What situation was that, Mr. Compton?" One of the jurors asked.

"I had just proposed to my girlfriend, and she declined." He said, still keeping my name out of it.

"Was your girlfriend vampire or human?" Another juror asked. I wondered why that mattered.

"Human." Bill answered with a little more pride in his voice than most vampires would have used. Humans were okay to have sex with and snack on, but they weren't marriage material.

"Continue." The jury didn't seem too impressed with Bill's confessed proposal.

"Anyway...after she declined my proposal, she headed back to Louisiana to go about her own life. I stayed on in Vermont, thinking it might be best if I put a little space between us. Lorena came to see me, as our bond alerted her that I was in deep distress." Bill looked to me, and I just stared at him. _You aren't getting anymore sympathy out of me, Mister_, I thought at him. "At first, I will admit that I was happy to see her. Lorena and I have a very complicated history with one another. She recently showed up in Texas and threatened my former girlfriend in front of Godric. She was forced off of Godric's property, and banned from his area. I hadn't seen her since, and I will confess that I did worry some about her after she was gone. While our relationship as Maker and Child has been turbulent, at best, I have always known without a doubt that Lorena cares for me deeply.

"So when I saw her, I was not unhappy. I was pretty upset over my girlfriend leaving, and I needed to be with someone. She convinced me to go back to Mississippi with her for a while, and I did. We spent a few days together in her home. When I decided I was ready to return to Bon Temps, she decided I wasn't going anywhere. She had a Were bind me to a chair with silver." Bill looked down at his hands. What little color there was in his face drained.

I hope it didn't show on my face, but I was starting to feel sorry for him again as he described the things she did to him. The Were had bitten him a few times. Since he was already a vampire, he wouldn't take on the characteristics of whatever animal it was she shifted to. Bill already felt like an outsider in the vampire world. If he were to become a vampire _and_ a shifter, there would be nowhere in the world for him to fit in. He most definitely would not be a human. The Weres wouldn't take him on, and the vampires would reject him. He would be an island unto himself. I had a feeling that if he ever found himself in a position like that, he would rather meet the sun than stick around in hopes of finding someone he could cling to.

After he spoke, it was Lorena's turn. I was even less interested in what she had to say, since she mostly rambled on and on about how much she loved Bill, and how he had never been grateful to her for turning him. He had never wanted to be a vampire, and if it wasn't for her, he would just be bones somewhere. She talked of her great love for him, and how she had been furious to find out that he was so infatuated with a human. That was when I was pointed out to everyone in the room. I wanted to melt into a puddle. I could feel everyone in the room staring at me after that. All of them were trying to figure out what the hell was so special about me.

_Don't worry, Sookie, you're doing great. She's about as crazy as they come, isn't she?_, Barry asked me. I hadn't even realized he was in the room.

_I hate her, Barry. I really hope they stake her right here. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be here right now. I'd be back home where I belong serving beers and chicken baskets to people who don't inflict torture on their ex's._ I was shouting in my head, and I felt bad for Barry.

_For what it's worth, my king tells me Lorena has caused an awful lot of trouble. She's made a lot of bad calls in the past, and the other vamps are pretty sick of her antics. You might just get your wish._ Barry told me, and I felt myself filling with hope.

I know that sounds horrible. I hadn't wished death on anyone in a long time, and it didn't make me feel good to know I was doing the same to Lorena. While her methods of going about getting what she wanted were all wrong, I couldn't really blame her for wanting to have someone to love. It was what we all wanted, wasn't it? I wondered if she had been just as ruthless to her human suitors when she was a mortal. Had she always been so lovesick, or was that just an unfortunate bi-product of so many centuries of being alone? I was sure I'd never know the answer to that question, not that it really mattered. Loneliness is not a good enough reason to take someone against their will and torture them in your basement. And I might have bought into her lonely hearts defense if she _hadn't_ tortured Bill.

I stole a glance at Eric, who was watching Bill very closely. I turned my attention to the jury of vampires, trying to pick out expressions on their faces that I could use to help me gage which way they were leaning, but trying to figure out a vampire's emotions by looking at their face would be about as easy as looking through a wall to see what the weather is like outside. I would just have to wait and see what sort of sentence Lorena would be given for her crime. She had outright admitted to holding Bill against his will, as well as starving him, taking silver to him and allowing the Were to use him as a chew toy. There would be some form of punishment. I just had no idea what it was.

Eric was even called to testify about what had been done to me as a result of all of this. I could not testify because I was a human, but Eric was a witness to my injuries. He couldn't say for sure what had happened to me, but he knew a vampire bite when he saw one. While Lorena hadn't done the biting herself, she had ordered her nestmate to comply with her wishes. Therefore, by vampire standards, she was just as guilty as if she had done the biting herself. Having the queen of Louisiana in my corner to back me up would have been much better for my cause if she weren't under suspicion of doing some rather shady things herself. But Eric...he was in good standing with the vampire community. His honesty was well-noted, as was the loyalty he had not only for his maker, but for his queen as well. He did his best to keep his rage under wraps, and by the time he was finished testifying on my behalf, I was quite certain I knew which was the gavel was going to fall on Lorena.

"We have reached a decision." A vampire from Ohio stood, and everyone in the room was looking at her. "The jury sentences you," She looked at Lorena with blazing eyes, "to final death."

Bloody tears ran down Lorena's face, and I felt relief flowing from Eric. I put my hand on his, and he glanced over at me just for a moment to acknowledge my gesture. Lorena stood and made her way back to the platform. I was surprised when Bill followed behind her. I wasn't prepared for it when he was handed a stake. Lorena opened her mouth to speak, but before she could make a sound, Bill drove the stake into her chest. Lorena's body seemed to implode. No one said a word.

* * *

There was a brief intermission after that so the room could be cleaned up before the trial would proceed to deal with the accusations against Sophie-Anne. I didn't understand why she would be accused of selling her blood for profit when Louisiana was already one of the wealthiest states where vampires are concerned. New Orleans had become a mecca, of sorts, for vampires. In large part, they had Anne Rice to thank for that. Sophie-Anne had even gone so far as to declare Anne Rice a friend to vampires, and that was a big deal- from what Eric was able to tell me between trials. Sophie-Anne was also looking to take a husband, and she had her eyes on the king of Arkansas. She approved of his shrewd business dealings, although she had no interest in him romantically. Sophie-Anne hadn't been into men for a few centuries. If they were to reach an agreeable contract, their marriage would purely be a business arrangement.

It was easy for me to let my mind fall open in a room full of vampires, and I listened closely to what each of the humans had to say while they were being questioned by the members of the jury. They had all be glamoured at one point or another, only I couldn't tell if what they were saying had been planted in their brains, or if they were telling the truth. Either way, they believed what they were saying, and had no idea why their word was being called into question. Each of the humans (who were also fangbangers) swore up and down that they would never lie about the actions of a vampire. They were well aware of the consequences for doing such a thing, and while they enjoyed the sexual pleasure of being with a vampire, they weren't looking to die. They were all being truthful.

Like many other vampires in a position of authority, King Felipe de Castro had a day man who took care of his affairs during human business hours. He was the one and only individual who hadn't been glamoured, and as luck would have it, he was a clear broadcaster. He would be the king's undoing, and Barry caught on to this as quickly as I did.

_You believe this guy, Sookie?_ Barry asked me.

_Hell no,_ I answered, and I leaned over to Eric to tell him what I had been able to glean from the day man's brain, but then I remembered I was in a room full of vampires. They would all hear me clear as a bell if I whispered. So, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket, and began to type a text message. I handed my phone to Eric rather than sending it to him, and his face lit up. If we hadn't been in the middle of a very important vampire ceremony of sorts, I was quite sure Eric would have given me the biggest kiss he'd ever given me.

_He's lying. The king glamoured all of those humans into thinking the blood they were taking on the side was Sophie-Anne's because he wants to make sure Louisiana remains unattached to another state. Felipe wants to stage a take over. If he can't have her, he wants to be sure that Arkansas doesn't get her either._

Eric then turned to Gervaise, another one of the Louisiana sheriff's, who then turned to Sophie-Anne's lawyer for the proceedings, a demon by the name of Mr. Cataliades. He was an interesting little man, who was much more polite than most of the vampires I'd met.

Pam leaned forward and tapped me on the shoulder. "Good work, Sookie." She said with pride.

Okay, Pam being nice to me without Eric ordering her to do it just weird. It's not that I don't appreciate it, so much as it makes me nervous. It's almost like the kindness I assume a death row inmate gets right before he takes that last long walk to the execution room. But I smiled over my shoulder at Pam all the same. The demon lawyer now had enough ammunition to effectively cross-examine the day man on the stand. One question at a time, he was able to poke holes in the man's story, and by the time Mr. Cataliades was finished with the king's day man, there was no doubt he had been lying in favor of his king. Mr. Cataliades even went to far as to tell the jurors to disregard the other testimony they'd heard because the humans had been glamoured. I expected a dramatic gasp like you would see in the movies, or in an old episode of Perry Mason, but the room remained silent.

Of course the lawyer for Felipe de Castro demanded to know where Mr. Cataliades got his information, and that was when it was revealed that Louisiana had a telepath on staff. It didn't take long to figure out who that was, considering there were currently only two humans in the room who hadn't been asked to testify in the trial, and both of us were telepaths. I really hadn't wanted to come out to the entire vampire community like that. I didn't want to be traded around from place to place so people could pay off one debt only to make another. I felt the tension in the room swell, and both Barry and I became extremely nervous.

"Easy, lover, you are safe." Eric's voice was so light I could barely hear it. It wasn't his words that calmed me as much as the feeling of his breath on my neck, and his fingertips grazing my arm.

In the end, Sophie-Anne was found not guilty of all charges. My debt was paid. Now I just had to make sure to keep it that way.

I was delighted to find that Eric was rather elegant dancer. I have a short list of talents outside of my telepathic abilities, and one of those things on that list is dancing. I wouldn't say I was anywhere near professional grade, but I could hold my own. In fact, I think I was even giving Eric a run for his money that night. The fact that I was wearing a slinky white dress that clung to me in all the right places didn't make it any easier for him to focus his attentions properly, and it was while we were dancing to an old Billie Holiday song that the newlyweds Russell and Bart danced up along beside us. They were completely enamored with each other, and I will admit, I envied their happiness.

"Miss Stackhouse, it is lovely to see you healed and upright." Russell said to me by way of a greeting.

"And it is lovely to see your face without little splotches of color on it." I remarked, earning a smile from the glowing vampire.

"Bart, darling, this is the telepath that was made reference to during dear Sophie's trial." Russell explained.

"I have heard many good things about you, Miss Stackhouse." Bart nodded at me without letting go of his new husband.

"Why thank you. Please, call me Sookie." I smiled at him.

"Sookie? What a name." Bart giggled, and I looked at Eric quickly. He wasn't too keen on the interruption, but he would endure it because he had to.

"It's quite a name or quite a woman." Eric offered, and I made sure to press against him a little more suggestively after that.

"Please do accept my apologies for the injuries you suffered. Rest assured that is not the way I run my territory." Russell told me.

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry we had to meet for the first time under such unfortunate circumstances." I said as politely as I could, although I wasn't quite sure I should believe the sweetness coming from Russell. I was quite sure he didn't get to where he was in the vampire hierarchy because he was gentle and compassionate.

"Darling, I need a drink." Bart's eyes flashed.

"Oh, yes of course. It was lovely to see you again, Sookie. Eric." Russell and Bart nodded at each of us in unison, and then danced away.

"They seem happy." I said quietly, and I wondered if I would ever have someone look at me the way Russell and Bart were looking at each other.

"They do." Eric agreed, and then spun me around in a fancy move I hadn't been expecting. He dipped me so far that my back was just about parallel with the floor.

"Where did you learn to dance?" I asked him, seizing an opportunity to learn something new about his life.

"Pam taught me. We spent a few decades in Paris about three centuries ago now, and we learned quickly that the best blood belonged to the aristocrats. But, in order to get in with them, you had to be able to dance at their many parties. They would gorge themselves on foods that cardiologists today would warn their patients to stay away from. They also drank wine the way you do that tea you like so much." Eric said, and I was surprised he paid attention to the things I drank. Bill had never really bothered with any of that. He did, however, make a pot of coffee for me each morning before retiring for the day. I appreciated that to no end. "The men were easier to coax out for a late night stroll, especially with Pam around. She has...charms that are hard to resist."

By _charms_ I knew Eric was referring to Pam's figure. She was very nicely shaped, and she was quite tall for a woman. I'm five foot six inches, and Pam is at least three or four inches taller than I am. I never bothered to ask exactly how tall, though. Still, she looked like she'd been surgically enhanced and spent hours in the gym. By the time a person got to know her well enough to find out the truth, they were already dead. Pam definitely didn't spend time in the gym. She would never need to worry about gaining weight. She would remain the same size for the rest of her life. For that reason alone, I envied Pam at the moment.

Since Eric seemed to be a in sharing mood, I asked another question. "How many languages do you speak?"

"Honestly?" He looked down at me with amusement.

"Of course." I smiled back. I couldn't figure out why he'd lie about something like this.

"I have lost count. Some of them are dead now, so they don't really matter. My native language being one of them." He told me.

"Do you miss home?" I asked him.

"Shreveport is just as good as anywhere else." He shrugged, but he'd misunderstood me.

"I mean the home you had when you were a human." I clarified.

He seemed to stiffen a bit at the mention of his human life. Eric wasn't comfortable discussing it, but I suppose I wouldn't be either in a room full of vampires. "I have seen better and I have seen worse." Was all he would say, which didn't tell me much. He cleared his throat and then said, "I'll go get you a drink."

He left my side before I could argue. I caught Bill's eye across the room, and he actually smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and looked away from him. There was no room for him on my dance card that evening, that was for sure. I wasn't in a forgiving mood yet, and knowing now that he had willingly gone with Lorena back to Mississippi only made me angrier at him. I made a decision with myself right then and there that I would never again feel guilty for cheating on Bill. Of all the people for him to seek comfort from, why did he have to pick Lorena? If it hadn't been for Godric, she would have killed me in Dallas. At the time, I had assumed he hadn't stepped in to protect me because she was his Maker, and there was nothing he could do. Now I wasn't so sure about that. I pushed the whole mess from my mind because I was just tired of thinking about it. Lorena was dead (for good). I should have been happier.

I found Eric over by the bar where he was getting my drink. "How long do we have to stay here?" I asked him.

"We don't." He said.

"Then let's get out of here." I said to him. I could feel Bill watching me, and it was giving me the creeps.

I made a big display of putting my arm around Eric, and walking out of the ballroom with him. I made sure not to look Bill's way as we walked out. We took the elevator back up to the ninth floor, and Eric unlocked the door to our room. The shades were up now, and I could see the stars shimmering in the sky. I wished we had a patio we could stand on, but I figured that probably wasn't a feature most vampires would be anxious to see in a hotel. But since I wasn't a vampire, I certainly could have used some fresh air. I went to the windows and stood there looking out at the nightlife Rhodes had to offer. It certainly seemed busy, and I found myself missing the quiet life of Bon Temps.

"What are you thinking of, lover?" Eric stepped behind me, and put his hands on my shoulders, rubbing them expertly.

"Home." I admitted.

"You miss it." It wasn't quite a statement, but it wasn't a question either.

"I miss the quiet of it." I leaned back against him, and his hands slid down my arms, taking the straps of my dress along with them. "I miss being with you." I turned my head and tiled it up toward his to kiss him.

Without the straps up on my shoulders, the entire dress just fell to the floor. Cool hands pushed down the cups of my strapless bra. I was wearing one of the lingerie sets that Eric had sent me with that first dress, and I knew it wouldn't go unnoticed. There was a sense of urgency between us, but that couldn't be avoided with the number of interruptions we'd experienced in the last twenty-four hours. He slid a hand down my stomach and into the front of my panties. I wanted to turn around and face him, but I didn't want to move either. His fingers worked quick, and I returned the favor by grinding against him as best I could. I felt better at that moment than I had in quite a while. I knew what was coming, no pun intended (although I'm sure Eric would have laughed heartily at that), and I couldn't wait for it. I removed Eric's hand and put his finger in my mouth. When I bit it, he practically howled behind me.

I'd never seen Eric so riled. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I turned around and unzipped his pants. If I hadn't been sure he was ready before, there was no denying it now. I pushed him down onto the edge of the bed. He tore my panties off of me. I had only worn them that one time. Oh well. Another pair of panties killed in the line of duty. I was sure they wouldn't be the last. Eric grabbed my hips, and picked me up easily. He was just about to lower me onto him when the fire alarm went off.

"Motherfucker!" Eric roared. I had never heard Eric curse like that before, but I just laughed.

What else could I do?

* * *

Please excuse my gross overuse of the comma in this chapter, but I didn't feel like taking them all out. Poor Viking just can't catch a break, can he? *sigh* I'm totes prepared for hate mail on this chapter. I seriously got some on lj when this was originally posted haha. Lucky for me I have a thick skin and a good sense of humor. Thanks for reading!


	23. Slow Show

Chapter Twenty Three: Slow Show

My invitation to Fangtasia's Halloween party was waiting for me in the mail when I got back from Rhodes. Eric and I were still on rocky ground, so I considered declining the invitation, but I was sure that if he hadn't wanted me to be there he would have made sure my invitation was pulled. It was a private party, according to what the invitation said, and costumes were mandatory. So, after arranging with Sam to work the lunch shift the day of the party, I set out to find a costume. I wasn't sure what to go as. Just about everything I found would make me look like a pornstar. I didn't mind looking a little sexier than usual, but I didn't want to take it too far either.

Besides, I still wasn't sure what was going to happen between Eric and me. I wanted to find a way to put things back together, but I didn't know how. Our trip to Rhodes had definitely been an eye opener for me on several levels. Clearly, no matter what the state of our relationship was, Eric and I would always be hot for reach other. Attraction wasn't our problem. I didn't think it was a lack of feelings deeper than that either. I knew I had them. I'd thought a lot about Sam's question. Did I love Eric? I asked myself that so many times that the words started to lose their meaning. So, I stopped thinking about it for a while. I just let my mind go blank. It would stay that way for a while, and then I would see Eric's face floating behind my eyes.

I was pretty sure I had my answer then. So there I was, out looking for a costume for his party. It was the last costume I looked at and I knew it was the right one. I had no idea what Eric was going as, although I was sure it would be something that would make my knees go weak, my pulse race and my panties drop. So I decided that if he was going to play hardball (I didn't know that for sure, of course, but this is Eric I'm talking about), I could play too. I bought the costume before I could reconsider my decision. I bought a pair of shoes to go along with it, and then stashed it all in my closet until Halloween. I tried not to even think about it.

Eric hadn't called me once since returning from Rhodes, and I didn't call him either. I felt him rise every afternoon when the sun set, and I could feel his more extreme emotions from time to time, but the bond was pretty quiet. There was a silence between us as deep as the ocean, and by the time Halloween came, I found I was drowning in it. I wouldn't say I was proud of myself for the way I had behaved, but I _was_ proud that I hadn't let my body do all the thinking for me. As much as I missed spending time in bed with Eric (and believe me, I missed it a lot), I knew there had to be something more. I needed time to reconcile what had happened with Bill within myself. I needed to really let him go so that I could devote myself to someone else. I wanted to make sure that if I was going to give my heart to someone else he was going to get the whole thing, and not just the pieces I had been able to sweep up off the floor.

By the time I got off of work on Halloween, I was practically floating. I was off the next day, which I was thankful for, because if things went according to plan, I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk very well, much less stay awake. I went home and immediately got myself into the shower. I took my time washing my hair and shaving my legs. The costume I was wearing wouldn't look so great if I wasn't careful. I would definitely be showing a lot more skin than usual, which might have made me nervous if I was going to see anyone but Eric. I had come to think of it like I was dressing up just for him. Maybe that was a mistake, but I'd stick by it no matter what happened.

Curling my hair took longer than I thought it would, but I wanted to make sure it was just right. I did my makeup a little different than usual. I'd bought lots of powders and things that shimmered, and when I was finished my eyes were big and sparkly. I waited until the last minute to put on my costume since I didn't want to wrinkle it any more than I had to. The party was starting at ten, but I figured it was acceptable to be there a few minutes later than that. I knew some vampires wouldn't roll in until much later than that. There would be parties all over Shreveport for them to attend, although I was sure Eric's would be the favorite.

I was excited to see him, now that I was clear about how I felt. The drive to Shreveport seemed to take forever, where it had always whizzed by on the nights when I didn't want to see him. Now I couldn't get there fast enough. When I realized I was going almost eighty miles an hour, I slowed down some. I wondered if he could feel me getting closer to him. More importantly, I hoped he was just as excited to see me as I was to see him. I straightened my costume when I got out of the car, and made sure I had my invitation with me. I walked to the door expecting to see Pam there, but it was a human there instead. How interesting that Eric would trust a human to do security work for him on such a big night.

"Invitation?" The man said as I approached. I reached into my purse and handed it over to him. "Ah Miss Stackhouse, the Master is waiting for you. Please." He gestured to the door. His tone was polite, but his brain told me he wasn't happy to see me at all. _She's a little on the chubby side. She's got a nice rack, and the legs aren't bad either. Yeah, I guess I can see why Eric would want to keep her around. I'd fuck her._

The impulse to turn around and slap the man who had just let me into the bar was overwhelming. Clearly, he was no fangbanger if he would be interested in bedding a human woman. Most fangbangers that I encountered would _only_ have sex with vampires, now that they had experienced it. Since I'd never been with a human man before, I couldn't tell you what the difference is aside from body temperature. I'm not ashamed to say that I did make a very fangbanger-like move when I walked into the main room of the bar- I immediately scanned the crowd inside for Eric's face. When I didn't see him anywhere, I tried not to feel discouraged. He very easily could have been in his office, just waiting for the right moment to make an entrance.

So, I looked around for a face that I considered somewhat friendly. By that, of course, I mean I was looking for Pam. She was the only other person in the bar I would even come close to trusting not to attempt to bite me. My costume was garnering me lots of attention, that's for sure, but what else should I have expected? I had chosen my costume with Eric in mind, but I had completely forgotten that he wouldn't be the only one to have a reaction to the way I looked. I saw a few fangs running out, and I tried not to feel nervous. Not so easy to do in a room full of lusty vampires.

Then a woman dressed like she had just walked straight of the 1950s approached me, and it took me a minute to realize that it was Pam. She looked so different from the way I normally saw her here at the bar. Her tight corseted dress was gone, as were the leather cuffs and elaborate chokers. Tonight she was wearing a rather conservative blue and white polk-a-dot dress with a wide white collar. She even had a matching apron tied around her waist. The only sign of the Pam I knew was on her feet. She was wearing brand new white mary jane heels that must have made her over six feet tall. How she walked in those shoes, I would never know. The heels had to be four or five inches. She wore a pretty pearl necklace and matching earrings. Even her hair was styled differently. The usual french twist was replaced with an expertly curled ponytail. She looked like the ultimate Stepford Wife.

"Pam?" I tried to keep the surprise out of my voice.

"Hello, Sookie." She cooed at me, taking in my costume. Pam generally kept her distance from me, taking great care not to invade my personal space, but tonight she seemed unable to do that. She touched my shoulder, and ran a finger down my arm. "Eric will be pleased when he sees you."

I felt goose bumps break out on my arms, and it didn't go unnoticed by Pam. "Is he here?"

"But of course. Tonight is our night." Pam smiled widely, her fangs running out. "What ever made you choose this costume?"

This made me blush a bit, but I saw no point in lying. While Pam might tease me for it, she certainly wasn't going to judge. "Eric told me that vampires find fairies to be particularly enticing. I figured since we've been having some trouble lately, I owed him one."

Pam laughed at this and stepped closer to me. "You may owe him one, but with this costume, you will get several in return." She said in a suggestive way, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what she meant by that.

I cleared my throat, and decided I needed a drink. "So where is Eric?" I asked her.

Pam turned and scanned the bar. She made a motion to the bartender that I might not have caught if it weren't for the fact that he was human. He jumped into action, and a few seconds later a fangbanger was bringing me a drink. "We call this one The Vampire's Kiss." Pam told me.

The drink was bright red, but I knew it wasn't blood. "Thank you." I nodded to the fangbanger, and then to Pam. I took a sip and realized that it was heavy on the grenadine, which I didn't particularly mind. "It's delicious."

"I know." Pam's eyes flashed. "If you'll take a seat, I'll let Eric know that you're here." Pam offered.

"Okay." I felt a little uncomfortable at the moment with all of the eyes on me.

Maybe I looked a little _too_ enticing in my fairy costume. There wasn't much to it. My wings were mostly white with a glittery green and purple pattern running around the edges. My dress, if you could even call it that, was also white. What material there was to the skirt just barely covered my lady parts, and the bodice of the dress had a corset in it. The dress was glowing under the black lights of the bar, and my skin looked a little darker than usual. When I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the mirrors in the bar, I realized the makeup I had chosen made my eyes appear to be glowing the way the vampires' eyes did. Couple that with my mass of big blond curls, and I was quite a sight. If Eric didn't show up, I would be lucky to leave the bar without a score of vampire bites on various parts of my body. I would make quite the meal.

I drained my drink a little quicker than I usually would because I was starting to get nervous. I took in the other costumes in the bar, and I quickly realized that not a single person in attendance was dressed as Dracula. I wondered if vampires found it insulting when humans dressed that way. I would have to ask Eric about that later...that is, if I ever saw him. My glass was whisked away, and replaced with something else before I even had a chance to consider what I wanted. I didn't know what I had been given, which made me nervous. I'd always been told not to accept a drink from a stranger, but I figured I was safe enough in Eric's bar. Just as I was raising the glass to my lips, the bond I shared with Eric went into overdrive.

"Hello lover." He said from behind me.

I froze for a second. Just hearing his voice caused a wave of warmth to radiate from my pelvis. I think I may have even shuddered a bit. I set down my drink, and stood up. I turned around to face him, and everything else in the world just stopped. I was no longer hearing the all vampire radio station that was playing, the brains of the fangbangers in the bar, the voices of the other vampires...it all just stopped. There was Eric, standing in front of me in this ancient warrior costume. I couldn't help but wonder if it was authentic from his human life. He wasn't wearing a Viking helmet, but he was carrying a hammer. I searched my brain for the name of the mythical character he had chosen. Thor!

His reaction to me was about the same as mine was to him, only he didn't have to worry about being able to breathe. He was all fangs, and _very_ happy to see me. With the black lights on in the bar, even Eric looked tan for a change. I don't know what the right word is to describe him, exactly, but I think _yummy_ might just sum it up. It took all the self-control I had not to jump him right there. At that moment, I didn't really care that we weren't alone. I just wanted him. But, I knew there were things that needed to be said, and I wanted to say them all.

"I didn't know you were coming tonight. You never called to tell me." Eric wasn't disappointed I was there, but I could tell something wasn't quite right after all.

"There wasn't anything on the invitation that asked for a response. I figured if you asked me to come it was because you wanted me to." I was getting real defensive real quick.

"I always want you to come." Eric's eyes sparkled when he said that, and I'm sure I blushed a little. I wasn't quite sure of what to say. Leave it to Eric to be so direct. "I see you have an Amputated Leg."

"What?" I looked down as if my leg had suddenly gone missing.

Eric smiled, and pointed to the drink on the table. "Your drink. We call it the Amputated Leg."

"Oh." I laughed at my own silliness. "Why is that?"

He leaned into me, his hammer pressing into my hip in a way that made my knees go a little weak. I knew he was breathing in my scent. His chest was rising and falling, and he didn't intentionally breathe very often. "Because if you have more than one, you'll be flat on your ass." He whispered when he'd had his fill.

He pulled back just a little, and I touched the hammer that had been pressed against me. His eyes went to my hand, watching it move on the hammer while I looked at his face. "Nice hammer. It's very...big." I said to him.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted once again, only this time by Chow. I couldn't hear what he was saying to Eric, but I figured I didn't need to. I withdrew my hand from the hammer that was hanging from Eric's waist. I was feeling a little jittery and slightly buzzed from the drink. Since I don't drink much, it doesn't take a lot to get me drunk. If I wasn't careful, I would end up just like Eric suggested, flat on my ass. I decided maybe it was better if I didn't have an Amputated Leg.

"Excuse me, lover, there is something I must attend to." Eric brushed a kiss against my cheek, and then departed with Chow.

I sat down at the same table, and just watched the people around me. There were a few humans of stable mind milling around in the bar, and I assumed they were the human companions of some of the vampires, or some of Eric's business associates. It was comforting to know there were people like me who could be attracted to vampires without losing themselves in it. Fangbangers just gave me the creeps, if I am to be completely honest. They possess this desperation to be close to a vampire. For some of them, it really is just a sexual thing, but many of them want to be brought over. I don't think I'll ever understand that. They're looking to be loved by a vampire, and that's much easier said than done. Vampires can afford to be picky about which humans they spend time with because of the powers they possess. All it would take is a little glamour to get a human to agree to being bitten, but that isn't necessary with the fangbangers. They are too eager, and most vampires find them as pathetic as I do.

Time seemed to be creeping by really slowly. I waited for as long as I could, and then I got tired of waiting. I hadn't come to this party to just sit around and wait. If Eric was busy, then maybe it was better if we just met up another night. When I didn't see him around the bar, I slipped into the employees only hallway that led to his office. I stood outside his office door for a minute, and listened to make sure he wasn't on the phone. I heard a muffled voice inside, but I couldn't tell whose it was. I knocked quickly, and then opened the door.

My heart yo-yoed from my feet to my throat and back again. Eric was sprawled out on his couch with a woman straddling him. Blood ran from her neck where he had just bitten her. I didn't know if I should be angry or devastated, but I think it was a combination of the two. I just stood there, washed in shock at what I was seeing. Eric's eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at me. His face was expressionless. The woman on his lap hadn't heard me come in, and she was ready to move on from the biting part to the more naked parts of the feeding.

I let the rage I was feeling take control of my mouth. I wanted to grab that stupid woman by her ridiculous wig (at least I hoped it was a wig), and throw her out of Eric's office. "Get the hell away from him." I said in as menacing a voice as I could muster.

"Fuck off." She glanced over her shoulder at me before returning her attention to Eric.

"You may go now, Mia." Eric said in a rather cool voice.

"But we haven't-"

"And we aren't going to." Eric's head whipped to the right to face her. His eyes glowed, and I knew he was glamouring her.

"Yes, Master." She sounded a little scared, but climbed off of him. She scurried past me, and closed the door behind her when she left.

"So this is what couldn't wait until later? You had to feed on some _fangbanger_?" I glared at Eric with fierce anger in my eyes.

"She offered herself to me. I was hungry. If I waited for you, I might starve to death." Eric's words landed on me like a ton of bricks.

"So that makes it right? How could you do that, Eric? It's not like humans are your only option." I reminded him.

"You said we were on a break. I assumed that meant I was free to do what I wanted. Perhaps next time you should be a little more clear, lover." Eric was on his feet and circling me.

I was suddenly reminded of that fight on Friends when Ross cheated on Rachel, and I couldn't believe I was having a similar fight with a vampire. If it weren't so infuriating, I might have laughed about it. I was in no mood for laughing, and by the tension that was building between us, neither was Eric.

"So how many have there been, Eric?" I demanded. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Two." He answered, but he wasn't at all ashamed of himself for it.

"Did you have sex with them?" I didn't really want to know the answer to that question either.

"No." He answered, and I knew he was telling the truth. I felt a little better, but not much. He was smiling at me in that smug way of his. "You are jealous."

"So what if I am?" I figured there was no point in trying to hide it, since he could feel it just as easy as I could. "How would you feel if I had been with someone else?"

"I would want to kill the man who touched you." He said easily, and that was also the truth.

"So how am I supposed to feel about you feeding on someone else when I know how difficult it is for a vampire to separate sex and blood? What if you can't control it next time?" I asked him.

"What does it matter to you, Sookie? You wanted your space." He reminded me. "Have I not given that to you?"

"You have." I agreed. "But I thought things changed at Rhodes."

"What changed?" He asked me. "I don't feel any differently now than I did before Rhodes."

"I thought you said you didn't have feelings?" I reminded him, even though we both knew that wasn't at all the case.

He had feelings. He had all of them. I felt them constantly. I knew better. I knew when he was angry, sad, happy, nervous, thoughtful...I could feel all of those things. Whether he wanted to admit to feeling them or not, I knew it was all there. He would never treat me the way he had just treated the fangbanger that left his office. He would never look at me like I was just a meal in heels. I would never see him as some heartless bloodsucker. We had gotten too close to each other for that. I knew I would always mean something to him, even if we couldn't find a way to make things work between us. But I didn't want to throw in the towel. I wanted to fight. I had never wanted to fight for something more in my whole life.

His inability to answer me at the moment was all the proof I needed that he had been trying to hide from me when he'd told me he didn't have feelings. "Look, Eric, I know that it's beneath you to care about a human, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about that. I am what I am, and you are what you are, and I have never judged you for being a vampire. When I look at you, I don't see fangs and pale skin. I don't see someone who can't take a walk with me on a sunny afternoon or share popcorn with me at the movies. I see someone who looks at me and knows exactly what I am, and he's not scared or disgusted by it. I feel safe with you. The last few weeks without you around have been miserable. I think about you all the time. I can feel you but I can't touch you and it makes me crazy sometimes." I confessed all of this to him without even thinking about hitting the pause button in my brain. "I am so sorry if I hurt you, Eric. I never meant for that to happen."

I felt a tear slide from the corner of my eye, and then one of Eric's fingers caught the tear. I wasn't at all surprised when he licked his finger. His eyes closed for a few seconds. "I have craved you." He said while his eyes were still closed.

_Oh way to make a girl's heart want to explode_, I thought to myself. "You said your feelings for me hadn't changed. How do you feel about me, Eric?" I asked with big pleading eyes. "Is this just about sex for you? Because if it is, then I don't think that's enough for me."

Now was the time to lay it all on the line. "You want me to tell you that I love you." He said to me in a way that bordered on being accusatory.

"I want you to tell me how you feel. Just tell me the truth, Eric."

"You know how I feel." He put his hands on my shoulders.

"I want to hear you _say_ it. I don't want to rely on some supernatural bond to know it. I want to hear it. I'm a human. That's the way we do things, and if you want to be with me, then you're going to have to get comfortable with that." I didn't think I was asking for too much. I just wanted the truth. That was all I'd ever wanted from him.

"When I was human, I spent my days under the sun. My skin was the same color as yours." He trailed his fingers up and down my arms, looking closely at them as if he'd never seen them before. "I would lay in bed at night, and I could hear the echo of my own heart beating in my ears. For a thousand years, that was the sound I heard in the moments before I retired for the day. And now...the heart I hear is yours. Until I met you, my rest was silent. It is not like that any longer. I rise, and the first thing I want is to see your face. When you are not close enough to touch, I do not feel like I am myself. I despise any man that might try to take you from me. I would give my life for yours. And while I certainly enjoy the time we spend together doing more intimate things, the connection I feel to you is much deeper than that. It is more powerful than anything I have felt in a thousand years. So if all of that put together means love, then I love you, Sookie."

I don't know what my makeup looked like by the time he was done talking, but I'm sure it was a mess. I was just thankful my tears weren't bloody like his. I wasn't the only one crying either, which was what really moved me. There was a single tear running from the inner corner of his left eye. Like he had done for me, I reached up to touch his cool face. I caught the tear on my fingertip, and then licked it clean. I'd forgotten how sweet his blood was. Just that single drop of blood would be enough to alter something in me for a while. Of course, there was no telling what part of me it would have the greatest effect on since I wasn't in need of healing.

I stood there looking up at him with my finger still in my mouth, and I was sure our expressions matched. His hand reached for mine, and he led me out of his office. We went across the hall and down the basement steps. If I hadn't been to that room he kept below the bar before, I might have asked where he was taking me. We walked through the basement and down the ivory hallway to where his room was. He put his hand on the doorknob, and I put my hand on his. I had something else I wanted to say to him before we went inside.

"Eric, hold on a second." I took his hand off the doorknob. His hand was so large it took both of mine to hold it. I pressed his palm against the top of my left breast so he could feel my heart beating. His fangs ran out, and I knew I had very little time to work with before he lost whatever control he had over himself. I took a deep breath and said, "You have been more patient, generous and kind to me than anyone I have ever met in my life. You have risked more for me, and gotten so little in return. There is a part of me that thinks you deserve better than me, and-" He cut me off there. He put one of his fingers against my lips.

"Don't talk like that, lover." He said forcefully.

I dodged away from his finger. "What I'm trying to say is that I love you too, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." I kissed the palm that had been pressed against my chest. I looked down between us for a second, and then back up at Eric. He was done with words. He was more a man of action. "Is that a hammer hanging from your waist, or are you just happy to see me?" I joked.

He answered by kissing me. The time for talking was officially over.

* * *

It's a good thing I didn't have any extra plans for my fairy costume, because Eric destroyed it. The wings were the first thing to go. He ripped the straps of the dress one at a time, planting kisses all over my shoulders and collarbone. His hands were in my hair, moving my head from side to side while he kissed me. The kisses were deep and full of more passion than I'd ever felt before. My toes were already starting to curl. His hands slid down from the back of my head, and his fingers curled around the flimsy material of my dress. He easily tore into the dress, splitting it to the seam at the waist, and the material fell away from my body. The dress had a built in bra in it, so there was on less thing to remove.

He set me down on a console table, the glass of the tabletop warming quickly under my skin. I freed the hammer from his waist before either of us got hurt by it, and made sure it didn't land too hard on the floor. While his mouth was occupied with various parts of my upper body, I removed the pelts that had been clasped around him, and watched as they fell to the floor as well. Under that, he was wearing this metallic mesh top with a tan leather belt wrapped around his waist. Since I couldn't reach the belt to remove the shirt, I went after the leather cuffs on his wrists that went half way up his large forearms. He stopped what he was doing long enough to pull off his shirt for me so that he was standing there in just the pelts that were laced around his thick calves.

He grabbed at the material of my skirt, but there wasn't much to grab onto. With a slight tug he was able to tear the seam of the dress. I was wearing tiny white panties, but those would easily be discarded as well. I slid off of the table, and let my fingers trail up and down his thighs for a few seconds before moving my hand up. My mind flashed back to Rhodes, and how much he had seemed to enjoy the blood exchange out in the hall. That was the closest he had come to being satisfied all weekend, although it wasn't for lack of trying. In a bold display of force, I pushed him against the wall (not an easy thing to do, might I add). I stood on the tips of my toes to kiss him for a few minutes before letting my kisses move around his body. His hands were in my hair once again, and my hands were busy below his waist. My mouth moved from his neck to his collarbone before finding his chest.

As my hands worked on his lower half, my mouth worked on the top. I found the same spot on his chest that he'd cut while we were in Rhodes, and without warning, I bit him as hard as I could. He muttered something in another language, but I didn't stop. I had managed to bite hard enough to break the skin, and I sucked on the wound I had created. Eric shuddered a little. His hands had moved down my back, and were squeezing my rear end. When the wound closed, I licked his chest the way he always did when my wounds were closing. I'd never made a vampire's knees go weak before, but Eric's were. He tore either side of the panties I was wearing, and pulled them away from my body before they could just fall to the floor.

He scooped me up and carried me over to the bed in the middle of the room. He laid down next to me so that we were facing one another, and his hand found its way between my legs while he kissed me. _God, I missed this_, I thought to myself as his fingers found all the right spots to touch. His mouth moved down my body as mine had done just a few seconds before. I felt his fangs drag along my breasts, and his fingers...oh his fingers. I started seeing those splotches of color I always see, and by the time his tongue had taken the place of his fingers, I was floating. "Ohmygod!" Came out of my mouth a few times, but the voice didn't sound like mine. I think I actually floated up out of my own body for a minute because the feelings passing back and forth between us were just too intense. I was still quivering when I came back down.

Without a moment's hesitation, or time for me to recover, Eric was already repositioning himself on top of me. My legs went around him loosely, urging him closer and closer to me until finally, I felt him slip inside of me. My legs closed a little tighter around him, and he quickly found a rhythm that was just shy of being brutal, but I didn't care. I gasped against his throat, his lips brushing against mine from time to time as he thrust into me. I was moaning loudly, and it wasn't long before he was doing the same. My hips rocked up to meet his, and my back arched in a way I didn't know it could. He pulled me up so that I was sitting on his thighs, and his hands were cupping my butt. My right arm went around his neck, while the left was around his back, and scratching him. The change in position brought a whole new sensation to the thrusts between my legs, and I started seeing the colors again. I bit on his ear, and he was again muttering in another language.

"I love you, Eric." I whispered in his ear, and then pulled back and turned my head to offer my neck to him.

He kissed my neck for a few seconds. His fangs fully extended, and then sank into my throat. I cried out as he fed on me, my body about as relaxed as it could get. He hadn't even had the chance to clean up the blood he had spilled when I lifted his face to kiss him. I felt my own blood staining my chin, and through the bond we shared I knew he was ready to explode. He broke the kiss suddenly, and with one last thrust, he howled, crushing my body against his. We were both absolutely still for a minute before I fell back onto the bed, and he fell on top of me.

"Ugh!" I laughed when I felt his weight on me. "Eric I can't breathe." I trailed my fingers up and down his back in a gentle way, and he moved off of me, but stayed close.

I rolled onto my side so we were facing each other once again, and I wasn't the least bit surprised when he pulled the top half of my body onto his. My heart was still beating super fast, and I knew he could feel it against his own chest. He stroked my back gently, and I moved my body around so that I was straddling his waist. His arms closed around me, and for a few minutes, we were just silent there.

"Why can I never get enough of you, lover?" He whispered to me.

I smiled against him, but said nothing. I figure that's probably one of those questions that is best left unanswered. Just knowing that he felt that way was enough for me, and to prove it, he picked me up and moved me a little lower. I forgot what a quick recovery time vampires had, and we started all over again.

* * *

**Sadly that won't be the last of the angst, but at least they know where they stand with one another now. That's something, right? Thanks for reading!**


	24. Taking You Home

Time to pimp myself out again since I almost always forget to do so. I'm co-hosting the 7 Deadly Sins contest. For more information, please check out:

**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2426932/7DeadlySinsContest**

If that's not really your speed, or scene, then check out the Age of Eric Contest hosted by Zigster, Chicklette & S Meadows:

**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/~theageofericcontest**

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Chapter Twenty Four: Taking You Home

When my eyes finally opened the next day, Eric was asleep next to me, his hand holding mine. My heart ached in a good way, and a part of me was sad I couldn't shake him awake to talk to him. I had no idea what time it was, but his phone was on the table next to the bed. I climbed over him to reach it, and found that it was already late in the afternoon. I put his phone back where I found it, and laid back where I was a minute before. I just laid there looking at him for a while. I didn't want to get out of bed. I wanted to stay there until there was nothing left of either of us, but I knew that wasn't possible.

So, I unclasped my hand from his, and went to the bathroom. I ran the water for a shower. My hair was all crazy and sticking up in weird ways. My makeup was a disaster, and I wondered how he could have possibly found me to be remotely attractive, let alone beautiful looking like I did. I took my time in the shower, since parts of me were still a little numb from my work out the night before. I don't know what time I finally went to sleep (it was more like passed out), but I knew it was before Eric had to rest for the day. I vaguely remember him kissing my forehead before he retired.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy black towel around me before leaving the room. I realized then that since Eric had destroyed my costume I had nothing to wear. I searched the room, and found one of his t-shirts. It was better than nothing. It was also huge on me, and I felt weird about not having underwear on. There's something about having underwear on that makes me feel better prepared to deal with life. I did, however, find that he'd left a note for me. It was on his desk, and his penmanship was immaculate.

_My Lover,_

_I regret I will not be there to see your eyes open when you wake. I do hope that you will stay until I rise. I have shirts you can wear until something more suitable becomes available. Although, I would not complain to find you naked next to me. Forgive me for thinking that is when you look your best. I left you something in the refrigerator._

_See you at sundown._

_Love,_

_E_

I read the note at least a dozen times before folding it carefully, and putting it in my purse. I wasn't usually one of those girls who was real sentimental about cards and letters and things, but this was different. This was tangible proof of Eric's feelings for me, and I wanted to keep it. I went over to the little refrigerator, and found a couple of those little boxes of cereal that Gran always said were a waste of money when we were kids, even though Jason and I were constantly asking her to buy them for us. When I think of it now, I realize how ridiculous it was, but back then we thought they were cool. Inside the fridge was a small container of milk and three different kinds of yogurt, as well as an orange and a banana.

I plucked a box of Cheerios off of the fridge, and got the box all set up the way you're supposed to if you're going to eat out of it. I broke the banana into pieces, and dropped it into the cereal before adding milk. There wasn't much light in the room, so it took me a minute to find the plastic spoons he'd left for me as well. I have to admit, I was impressed. It was extremely considerate of him to do this, and I wondered how long he'd had to prepare this for me before he had to rest. Then again, it was entirely possible his day man could have snuck in to leave these things for me. If that was the case, I hope I wasn't quite as exposed as Eric was over on the bed. I was far more modest than him, that's for sure. Eric was the kind of man who would have no qualms whatsoever about walking naked down a crowded street, provided it was after sundown.

Trying to figure Eric out was difficult. The pieces were coming together a little at a time, and I was starting to understand him better, but there were still things I didn't quite get. For instance, he adored being the center of attention, but he put a high price on his privacy. He didn't like the idea of too many people trying to get close to him, and he certainly wouldn't give the time of day to anyone he didn't think was worthy of it. I gathered that he enjoyed running his business so much because it was fairly simple, and what he said was law. Eric definitely prefers (and by that, I mean expects) to have the upper-hand in any given situation. He doesn't like being outsmarted, not that it happens often, and he doesn't really seem to like playing games with people. He's a straight shooter, which I like. Generally speaking, he's honest about things. With the exception of that one event in Dallas, he has never tried to be something he isn't.

But when I think about Dallas now, I can't be angry. Well, at least not at Eric. While I don't think I will ever approve of his methods, he actually did me a big favor by getting me to suck that bullet out of his chest. To be perfectly honest, I don't know if I ever would have had the courage to take a risk on him without it. There was a part of me that wanted to. I'd always been intrigued by him, and I was certainly attracted to him. I had always assumed he'd be excellent in bed, but I didn't see the value of getting any closer to him than that. How wrong I was to think that way. And when I look back on all of it now, I realize how foolish I was to think he only saw me as a prize. I was now sure that he wanted me for me. Taking me from Bill was just the cherry on the sundae.

I finished my cereal, and then went to check the time again. It was nearly five. Eric would be up soon. I went to the bathroom and found a comb in the medicine cabinet. I dragged it through my hair, pausing to unsnarl various knots and tangles. I didn't have a toothbrush there, and I felt weird about using Eric's, so I just dabbed a little toothpaste on the tip of my finger. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing. I made sure all the remnants from my makeup the night before were gone from under my eyes. I was amazed to find my legs were still a little shaky from the night before. I don't know if it was from all of the activity, or from the blood loss. I could feel Eric's blood coursing through me, which was a new thing. I remembered watching the bite on his chest close the night before, and it was just amazing to me how quickly he healed. I wondered if he would heal just as quickly if I were to bite him when he was sleeping, not that I would ever try it. I can't imagine it would be a good way for him to wake up, and I wasn't about to test it.

I climbed back onto the bed net to him, and rolled onto my side so that I would be the first thing he saw when his eyes opened. I even put my hand back where it was when he'd laid down next to me. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, or so I thought, and didn't open them again until I felt a cool hand on my thigh that was moving slowly up and under the t-shirt I was wearing. I smiled when I saw Eric's eyes open in front of me.

"Hi." I said sheepishly.

"You look beautiful even in your sleep." He said to me.

"I guess that's something we have in common." I moved a little closer to him.

"Did you find my note?" He kissed the back of my hand.

"I did. Thank you." I pulled myself up so that I was sitting on my knees.

I knew because of his age that Eric could rise a little bit before the sun was completely gone, but it still had to be somewhere around 5:30. I was working the late shift the next night at the bar. That meant I had less than twenty-four hours before I had to be back in Bon Temps. Leaving Eric was going to be hard, but I didn't have a choice. In a perfect world, I could quit my job and just stay with him all the time, but I knew that would get boring after a while. Frankly, I liked working. I liked seeing different people come and go from the bar, and I liked not knowing what my days were going to be like. Something interesting always happened, and it was good for me to be around humans. If I stayed away from them too long, my ability to shut them out of my head started to fade, and I found myself drowning in all of these voices. Though it was nice to lay next to Eric and only hear him when he spoke.

"You are welcome to stay as long as you like." Eric told me as if he thought I was leaving.

"Oh I'm not going anywhere." I pulled off the shirt I'd borrowed and tossed it to the floor, making him smile.

"Are you sure you have the strength?" He asked me in teasing tone.

I bent over him and kissed him, my hand sliding down his body. "Are _you_?" I arched an eyebrow at him, and he pulled me on top of him so I was straddling his waist.

Part of the fun of being with Eric was the spontaneity of his actions. It was difficult to be bored when I was around him. He always had something interesting to say, or some way to keep me entertained. In the moments when he _was_ silent, it wasn't awkward. I knew he was thinking about something important, even if it wasn't me. I wasn't one of those girls who needed to be in her boyfriend's thoughts every minute of every day. And because of the bond we shared, I knew he thought of me plenty. I wondered if he was curious about me the same way I was about him. Of course, he had a much bigger life than I ever would, and there wasn't nearly as much time to account for when you stacked my years against his. Even his human years were full of more life than mine.

But I suppose that's what made us a good partnership. I was starting to see that we balanced one another out when we were together. He'd told me more than once that I had some sort of power over him, but I realized while I was laying there next to him that that power went both ways. He had influenced me quite a bit in the time we had known each other, and I realized that I had picked up some of his traits. I realized that while I had changed, it wasn't a bad thing like I'd thought. I'd only thought it was bad because I was afraid of it. Letting go of Bill once and for all made me realize that it wasn't bad at all. That's what us humans are supposed to do. We're supposed to grow and evolve and learn from our mistakes. I was doing all of those things, and I was pretty sure I had Eric to thank for that.

"Can I ask you a question?" I looked up at him.

"Of course."

"Okay, well, this is going to sound kind of silly." I started and laughed at myself for even thinking of asking, but I was curious about it.

"Ask me." He encouraged.

"Well, I was walking around down here when I first woke up, and I started thinking about last night when I bit you." I started.

"I like where this is going." He kissed the inside of my wrist since it was closest to his mouth, and I smiled.

"I know that you heal fast."

"I do."

I laughed again because I was sure I was about to ask a stupid question, but I wanted to know. "If you were bitten while you were resting, would you heal as fast as you did last night?"

He looked at me with a blend of amusement and amazement. He paused for a moment, and then said, "I don't know." He admitted, and I laughed again.

"Really?"

"You are the only human to ever be with me while I as resting. Godric and Pam are the only vampires I have ever trusted to know my resting place, and neither of them ever bit me while I was resting. In fact, I don't think Pam has bitten me in almost a century." Eric revealed.

"She bit you?" I wasn't exactly surprised by it.

"I told her to. We were in Chicago at the time. Pam wasn't able to get to our safe house before sunrise, and she was quite weak. She rose late that night, and she was still very weak. She could not wait for me to find her a donor, so she fed on me." Eric explained to me.

I knew that Eric and Pam had been involved in a sexual relationship when she was a young vampire. That much didn't really bother me, truth be told. With a history as long as Eric's, it was to be expected. I couldn't really hold it against him. It might have if it weren't for Pam's preference for women. But even if she _was_ interested in men, I was sure Eric wasn't interested in her. Bill had told me once that vampire relationships don't tend to last too long. They burn real hot while they're ongoing, but they fizzle out fast.

Hearing Godric's name was unexpected as well. I knew Godric was a sore spot for Eric. "Do you miss Godric?" I asked as gently as I could.

"There are no words to describe what I feel where he is concerned." Eric answered, and that was good enough for me.

I could have said something in response to that, but I figured there was no way I could possibly understand just what Eric had gone through after Godric's death. I knew the feelings Eric had for his Maker were strong, not to mention complicated. They had spent many centuries together before going their separate ways, and even then, I knew Eric had felt a strong bond to his Maker. It was because of his attachment to Godric that I had begun to notice that Eric wasn't quite as void of emotion as I'd thought. Maybe it was a conflict of interest to have those kinds of feelings for a human, but I tended to think that had more to do with vampire conditioning. For centuries, Eric had been taught to see humans as nothing more than something to use up and throw away. Then he met me, and all of that changed for him.

"Now let me ask you something." Eric gripped my hips a little roughly.

"Okay." I pressed my palms a little harder against his chest.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked me rather bluntly.

"You think _I'm_ the stubborn one?" I arched an eyebrow at him. I knew he had a point, but I wasn't alone in that capacity.

"Yes, lover, you are. You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met." He told me.

"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked him.

"Only when it puts your life at risk." His hands moved up my sides to my breasts. "There will come a time when you will have to defend yourself without a vampire there to rescue you. Does it not worry you that you could die because you were too stubborn to know when to quit?"

"Are you talking about Bill?" I wanted to be sure.

"Bill, Godric, Maryann...take your pick, Sookie." It was scary that he was able to make a small list.

"I guess I want to believe that the world can be a better place, and if there's something I can do to make that happen, then I will." I answered him.

He looked at my face, taking in the different parts of it before leaning in to kiss me. "You are going to be the death of me." He said, and then kissed me until I couldn't breathe.

Eric had me pinned under him with our hands pressed together on either side of my head. His t-shirt was pushed up around my waist, and moving slowly on top of me in an almost teasing way. When he pulled his head back, I raised mine to meet him. I licked his fangs, and he groaned. When I pulled my head back to the mattress, he lowered his head back to mine. He went after my earlobe while I went after his neck. The arches of my feet pressed against his lower back, pushing him deeper inside of me. He never let go of my hands. I moaned against his neck, and bit his shoulder lightly when I started seeing those little flashes of color. A few seconds later, he stopped moving on top of me, but he was muttering in another language.

"What did you just say?" I brushed his wild blond hair back from his face, and kissed his cool cheek. He snuggled against me, and spoke into the crook of my neck. The words came out muffled, so I couldn't understand him. "What?"

"It was Swedish." He said in a slightly breathless way. "Hur gör du det? Gud, jag älskar dig." He repeated for me, and I felt a little chill go up my spine. He sounded even sexier when he spoke Swedish.

"What does it mean?" I asked, and for the first time since I'd met him, Eric seemed embarrassed. "You can tell me." I assured him.

He hesitated for a few painful seconds that seemed to drag on forever before he rolled over pulling me on top of him so he could look me in the eyes. Whatever it was he'd said must have been something important. "How do you do that? God, I love you." He translated for me, and I felt my heart break just a little bit.

My lower lip trembled, but to stop myself from crying, I kissed him some more. "Can we just stay like this forever?" I asked after a few minutes.

I knew it wasn't possible, but a girl can dream.

* * *

Pam was kind enough to loan me an old dress of hers to wear home, although I suspect that Eric had something to do with her unexpected generosity. I promised to take good care of it (knowing how seriously Pam took fashion) and have it cleaned before returning it to her. I'd wanted to stay in Shreveport longer, but Eric had work to do, and I had work myself the next day. I was tired and hungry, but I barely felt it. The only thing I could think about was Eric. I really would have been content to stay in that dark room for as long as he would have me.

I was at work when Pam showed up at my house. Since I wasn't there, she decided to try Merlotte's. Usually Pam only came to see me on Eric's orders, so I wondered what had happened that he couldn't call me himself. I took my break, and followed Pam out to the parking lot. She didn't seem unhappy to see me, and I was sure that she hadn't come looking to collect her dress. She had something more important to discuss. We exchanged the usual pleasantries before she started to get to the point behind her visit. It wasn't like Pam to stall for time.

"There is a very powerful witch in town. She came to the bar last night after you left. She is demanding a percentage of Eric's business." Pam didn't bother pulling any punches.

"He said no, I'm guessing."

"Actually, he laughed and then he told her to get the hell out of his bar before he drained her dry." Pam told me, but her amusement at her memory only lasted for a second before she turned serious again.

"I'm guessing she didn't leave?"

"She told Eric that he had a choice. He could give himself to her, and she would call it even, or she could collect ten percent of his revenues for the next year." Pam explained to me.

My breath caught in my throat. While it was true I couldn't blame the witch for wanting a little one on one time with Eric, I was pretty sure he'd never agree to something like that. Besides, could a witch even put a spell on a vampire? I wanted to think that wasn't possible, but I was learning a little more every day that _anything_ was possible. I also knew there was no way Eric would ever just hand over his money to someone just because they were attempting to extort it from him. Eric worked very hard for the money he made. While I'm sure there were times in the past when he had glamoured money out of humans, he didn't have to do that anymore. The fangbangers alone were enough to keep him in business, but it was the tourists who really powered his business. There was a curiosity toward vampires that I didn't see going away any time too soon. What most people didn't know, and probably never would until it was too late, is that Nan Flannigan was only telling half truths about vampires. Just because vampires had come out of the coffin, it didn't mean they were necessarily looking to make human friends.

"So what is he going to do?" I asked, although the answer should have been clear as day to me.

"He's not going to budge. You know how stubborn he is." Pam resisted smiling.

"Yes, I know that all too well." I nodded, and thought back to the conversation we'd had the night before. "No offense, Pam, but why isn't Eric telling me all of this himself?"

"Well, I was hoping he was with you. I went by your home, but didn't see him. He is not at his home, and I cannot raise him on his cellular. Did he happen to tell you where he was going?" She asked me.

"No, I haven't heard from him yet today." I shook my head. I hadn't been worried about it. I'd told him I would call him when I was leaving work. He'd wanted to come by when I got home, and I was all for it. "We were going to meet later tonight, though. Is something wrong at the bar?"

"Not yet, but I can feel the witch's magicks when she approaches. She's very powerful, Sookie, and I'm not sure she's human." Pam confessed to me.

"What does that mean?" I asked Pam.

Then, all of a sudden, Pam was gone. She just vanished into thin air. I looked around, trying to figure out where she might have gone, but she was nowhere to be seen. I let my guard fall in my brain, and I got the impression there was something nearby. It was a shifter of some sort, but I knew it wasn't Sam. I could read his brain no problem. This brain was harder to read, but the thoughts were menacing. I didn't even get the chance to see my attacker before I was hit with some sort of energy that threw me against Catfish Hennessy's truck. My head bounced off the passenger's side door, and I landed hard on my right side. I don't know how long I was there for.

* * *

**Uh oh...any guesses as to how it's going to go next? *wiggles eyebrows* Thanks for reading!**


	25. Memory

Just for **Slacker Dee** because I understand the importance of procrastination *goes searching for hooker boots*

* * *

Chapter Twenty Five: Memory

"Sookie! Sookie, can you hear me?" Sam was kneeling over me, and there was a small crowd gathered near the doors of the bar.

"Yeah, I hear you." I grumbled and pushed myself up on the gravel.

"What happened?" He leaned in close to me.

"I don't know." I shook my head, but realized how much that hurt. "The last thing I remember is telling you I was going to take my break, and then you were shaking me."

"You got a pretty nasty bruise on your face there." Sam pointed to the right side of my face.

"Maybe I fell?" I really had no idea how I'd even gotten outside, much less how I'd ended up on the ground.

"You don't think Pam hit you, do you?" Sam asked me.

"Pam?" I brushed gravel off my arms.

"Eric's friend." Sam's concern for me grew by leaps and bounds in those two words alone.

"Who's Eric?" I asked and Sam's jaw dropped.

"Oh boy." He exhaled slowly.

"Here, Sookie, put this on your face before it swells up like a grapefruit." Tara handed me an icepack.

"Thanks, Tara." I gently pressed the ice to my face.

"Sookie, I think I oughtta take you to the hospital." Sam helped me to my feet.

"Sam, I'm fine. It's just a bruise." I tried to smile but it hurt.

Sam turned and looked at the crowd. "She's fine. Ya'll go back inside now. Go on!" He waved at the crowd to go back into the bar. People groaned and took one last look our way before returning to their drinks and buffalo wings. "Sook, you really don't remember Eric?"

"The only Eric I remember is Eric Toller and I wouldn't exactly call us friends." I recalled a husky boy with dark hair that used to play football with Jason. I got the feeling the Eric I was recalling wasn't the same one Sam was referring to.

"What about Bill? Do you remember Bill?"

"Bill who?"

"Bill Compton."

I thought for a minute and said, "Is he any relation to the old man who lived near my house?"

Sam sighed and put his arm around me. "I'm taking you to the hospital, _cher_."

"What? Sam, I got tables in there." I pointed to the bar.

"So let someone else handle 'em. You hit your head. You need looking after. Now either I can take you, or I can call Eric-"

"No, you're right, I'll go." I stopped him before he could finish his suggestion.

I had no idea who this Eric person was, or why he should be important to me. I got into Sam's truck and waited while Sam went inside to call Terry Bellefluer to come manage the bar while we were at the hospital. Arlene would be stuck running around all night long looking after all the tables. I would owe her big time for this. After a few minutes the ice started to hurt my face so I pulled the pack away and looked in the mirror on the visor overhead. My face was a little swollen but nothing too bad. There was a dull aching in my head but I suspected it wasn't nothing a good night's sleep and some Tylenol couldn't cure.

"Sam, who is this Eric person you were talking about?" I asked once we were on the road toward the hospital.

"He's your boyfriend, I guess." Sam spoke in a begrudging tone.

"My boyfriend?" I laughed. "Sam, don't you think if I had a boyfriend, I'd remember?" I shook my head slowly and then it dawned on me. "I get it! This is some silly Halloween prank, right? Very funny."

"Sookie, this isn't a prank." Sam looked over at me. "You and Eric have been seeing each other for the last couple of months now, since before you broke up with Bill."

"Bill who?" Sam pulled off to the side of the road in a panicked sort of way. "Sam Merlotte just what the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Sookie what's the last thing you remember?" Sam asked me again.

"I told you already." I sighed with frustration. "I was inside waiting tables and I decided to take my break. I went outside and the next thing I know, you're standing over me looking like you just had the scare of a lifetime."

"And you don't remember Eric or Bill at all?" Sam asked to be sure.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said with a straight face so he wouldn't think I was fooling with him, which I wasn't. Sam hung his head and sighed. "Sam, what's going on? You're making me nervous."

"Sookie, do you remember the Great Revelation?" Sam asked me.

"The revelation of what?" I put the ice back on the side of my face.

"Oh shit." Sam turned back in his seat and started his truck again.

"Sam!" I whined when he kept silent.

"A few years back there was an announcement." He paused, trying to find the right words to explain it. "Vampires are real, Sookie."

"Shut the fuck up." My jaw dropped and I laughed. Sam wasn't a liar. In fact, Sam was one of the most truthful people I knew.

"Eric and Bill are vampires." He told me.

"I'm dating a vampire?" I pulled the ice from my face again and turned in my seat. "Okay, now I'm thinking maybe _you're_ the one with the head injury."

"Would I lie to you, Sookie?" Sam glanced over at me as he drove. "What would be the point? You always know when someone's lying. You could pick it right out of my brain."

I had completely forgotten about my ability! How that happened, I don't know. Maybe there was just too much else to absorb that I had completely forgotten about it. I'd gotten real good at keeping my guards up lately, so I hadn't considered it. But now that he mentioned it, I couldn't hear a thing. I tried and tried to get in Sam's brain every way I knew how, and nothing. It was completely silent. _What the hell is going on?_, I asked myself as we drove along.

I was taken for all sorts of scans and x-rays at the hospital but none of them showed any damage. I hadn't broken any bones and there was no swelling in my brain. Clearly I'd bumped something, or something had bumped me, but I couldn't remember anything about it. The doctors wanted to keep me overnight since I would be going home alone. Sam offered to stay with me but if it was true that I had a boyfriend it probably wasn't smart to have Sam staying over. Jason could stay if I needed someone to keep an eye on me. My brother may not be real reliable when it comes to most things but I knew if I needed him to take care of me for the night, he'd do his best.

So, even though the doctor wasn't real keen on my decision, I had Sam run me back home. He told me to take as much time off as I needed to but I needed money. It didn't just grow on trees. By the time we got back to my house there was a strange car parked around back. The vanity plates attached to the car gave me the shivers. Who in the hell would put BLDSCKR1 on their car like that? Sam's truck was barely stopped when he jumped out to open the passenger's side for me. I realized then that my own car was still back at the bar.

"What about my car?" I asked.

"I'll see if Tara can run it over for you tonight after we close up." Sam offered.

"That'd be real sweet of you, Sam." I reached out and gave him a hug, which had clearly caught him off guard.

"There you are, lover, I was starting to worry." A cool voice with a faint accent spoke from behind me.

"Eric, there's something you should know." Sam released me and I turned to see Eric.

_That's my boyfriend?_, I felt my heart start to flutter a little and my stomach did a flip-flop. _Oh yum_, I thought. He had the prettiest blue eyes I'd ever seen and shiny golden hair. He was tall and just large in general. He was fast, too. One second he was on the porch and the next he was at my side, examining my face. His fingers were cool against my cheek and he was more gentle with me than I thought a man of his size would be.

"What happened to you, lover?" He asked calmly before turning angry eyes on Sam. "Don't tell me some drunk did this to her."

"No, it happened in the parking lot." Of all the first words to say to someone like Eric, those were the ones I chose. Don't ask me why.

"Pam came to see her and when she didn't come back inside I went looking for her. I found her near one of the trucks out there. She was passed out." Sam explained to Eric as if I weren't standing there.

"No one saw what happened?" Eric looked from me to Sam. "What do you remember, Sookie?"

"Just that I was going to take a break and then Sam was asking me if I knew who I was. If something hit me, I don't remember it." I told him.

"I took her to the hospital in Clarice. Doc says she's gonna be fine but someone has to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't pass out again." Sam told Eric.

"I will take care of her." Eric looked down at me. "Come inside, Sookie."

"Wait just a second now." I pulled my hand from Eric's and looked back at Sam.

"There's something else, Eric." Sam stepped forward, clearly not happy about being caught in the middle of all this. I couldn't blame him one bit.

"Sookie doesn't remember being your girlfriend. She doesn't remember Bill either. In fact, she didn't even remember anything about vampires coming out." Sam told him and Eric's eyes were on me in a second.

"Is this true?" He demanded in a harsher tone than he'd intended and I stepped closer to Sam.

"Be easy on her, Eric." Sam put an arm around me.

"I'm sorry." Eric shook his head and the anger fell from his ridiculously handsome face. "There are just circumstances right now that require me to know everything about your condition."

"What sort of circumstances?" I asked.

"It would be best if we were to discuss this alone." Eric's eyes began to glow and I felt this pressure in my head. For a second, Eric looked completely terrified and I was sure that someone like him didn't get scared very often. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's used to being the one to do the scaring.

"Sam, I'll be fine." I looked to my left.

"Are you sure?" Sam seemed nervous about leaving me alone.

"You said he's my boyfriend, right? And you know I wouldn't stay with someone I couldn't trust to treat me right, vampire or not."

"Yeah, but Sook-"

"If anything happens, I promise you'll be the first one I call." I swore to him.

"Just remember, if he gets out of line, all you have to do is rescind his invitation and he'll have to leave." Sam reminded me, which was good, since I never would have known that.

"Is that true?" I looked over at Eric for confirmation.

"Sadly, yes." Eric was glaring at Sam.

"I'll remember." I promised when I looked over at Sam. "Thank you for taking me to the hospital. I'll call you in the morning to let you know about work."

He nodded, and then went back to his truck. I turned back to Eric, who put his large arm around me. He was touching my bruises again and he bent to kiss the side of my face very softly. My breath caught in my throat and I wondered just how _close_ he and I really were. If we'd only been dating for a short time like Sam said, we couldn't have gone _that_ far. I know it's old-fashioned and probably way out of date, but I never believed in having sex with just anyone. Even if that anyone was as disgustingly sexy as the man with his arm draped around me. There was something about him that just oozed sex and I started to wonder if maybe we hadn't already crossed that line.

Before I could argue about it, he scooped me up and carried me toward the porch. "You don't have to do that. I'm too heavy." I insisted, but Eric just smiled at me with amusement.

"Trust me, lover, you aren't heavy." He promised and kissed the tip of my nose.

He put me down once we were in the house and I looked around to make sure things were just like I remembered them. Everything seemed fine. The only thing out of place was the man next to me. To say I was curious about him would be an understatement. I had absolutely no recollection of him whatsoever. I had no idea how we'd met, or how long we'd been seeing each other. I wasn't even sure if I really bought into that whole vampire thing. Okay, so Eric was pale and his skin was much cooler than most people's. That didn't mean he was a vampire. What got me thinking maybe it was true was that pressure I'd felt in my head when he'd stared at me so intensely.

"Why did you look scared when we were outside?" I asked him.

"Scared? Lover, I don't get scared." He said smoothly, stepping closer to me. I backed away from him a little.

"I might have bonked my head, but I know what scared looks like." I continued to edge away from him. "Sam tells me you're a vampire."

"I am." He stepped closer to me, which made me nervous and a little excited at the same time.

"You aren't going to kill me, are you?" I tried to laugh at what I was saying but for some reason I didn't think vampires had much of a sense of humor. You never saw a vampire working as a comedian in movies, that's for sure.

"Kill you?" Eric arched an eyebrow at me. "Why would I want to kill you?"

"Isn't that what vampires do?" I kept edging away from him until I was backed against a counter. There was nowhere left to go and based on the way he'd come at me from the porch a few minutes before, I was pretty sure that running wouldn't do me one bit of good.

"Some do, but that's not necessary anymore." Eric opened the refrigerator and handed me a bottle full of something called TrueBlood.

"What's this?"

"Synthetic blood. The Japanese figured out a way to get us the nutritional requirements that human blood offers us without us having to kill a human," Eric was looking at my neck while he talked. "But I have tasted you."

"Tasted me?" I almost dropped the bottle I was holding.

"Yes." He said in a way that sent shivers up my spine. He leaned in closer to me. "You have the most amazing taste." He whispered in my ear.

I stood there trying not to lose my cool. I took a few deep breaths and then put the bottle down on the counter behind me. "How long have we been seeing each other?" I asked, thinking maybe it was better to put a little space between us.

"A few months now. We've known each other longer than that but while we were in Dallas, things changed." He backed away from me a bit which I was thankful for. He had a very powerful presence and it was starting to smother me a little.

"What were we doing in Dallas?"

"Rescuing my Maker. His name was Godric. We thought he'd been kidnapped, so you offered to help find him."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did. Turns out that Godric went willingly. After he was returned to our kind, he met the sun anyway." Eric said bitterly.

"Met the sun?"

"He met his final death. You were there." Eric told me.

"I was?" My eyes went wide. "Why would I be there to watch a vampire die?"

"You stayed for me because I could not." Eric looked away from me. "It was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me."

I wasn't quite sure what to say, since I didn't remember being in Dallas, let alone witnessing someone's death. "This Godric meant a lot to you?" I asked instead.

"He did." Eric continued to keep his back turned to me.

"I'm sorry he died." I genuinely felt bad.

"As am I." Eric cleared his throat.

"What about Bill?" I asked.

"Bill is alive. Well, as alive as any of our kind can be." Eric still hadn't turned to face me. His hands were in his pockets. He was as still as a statue, though his head was bowed slightly.

"Sam said that I used to date Bill but I don't remember that either." I told Eric.

"From my understanding, you had just started seeing Bill when you and I met. He brought you to the bar I own in Shreveport. You thought I was a jerk." Eric told me.

"I did? Why?" I was amused by that, considering I didn't see anything jerky about him and I was a pretty good judge of character. Of course, it helped that I could usually read minds, so I knew a lot more about a person's character than they thought.

"I made a pass at you." Eric recalled and turned to face me finally.

"Your face!" I pointed and nearly screamed. There were red streaks running down his pale cheeks like he had been bleeding from his eyes. "Eric, what happened?" I rushed toward him and pulled his face closer to mine to take a closer look at him.

He put his hands on my wrists and was careful not to apply too much pressure to them. "They are tears, Sookie."

"Tears?" My heart started hammering in my chest. "You cry blood?" He remained motionless and speechless, which was confirmation enough for me. "Eric, I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't know." It seemed to physically hurt him to say those words.

"Why don't you sit down, and I'll get you a washcloth?" I suggested and pulled out a chair for him.

I turned to go get a rag from the linen closet but Eric was already blocking my path. I shrieked and slipped on the hardwood floor. He reached out to steady me. "I should be taking care of you, lover." He stepped closer to me again and my heart was just pounding away in my chest so hard it felt like it was in my ears.

"Eric, I'm okay." I insisted but my elevated heart rate was making my head hurt again.

He reached out and put his cool fingers under my chin. He bent his head to mine and kissed me softly. I was afraid to kiss him back but I did it. Sweet Jesus am I glad I did. I didn't know much about the man standing in front of me but I knew one thing for sure- he had the most amazing lips ever in all of God's creation. What I did to deserve having them pressed against mine, I will never know.

Eric insisted that I get into my pajamas and get in bed. He then came to sit beside me while he explained everything about vampires to me and the things he knew of my life since we'd met. I'm sure there was a lot missing and I would need to find my ex-boyfriend Bill so he could explain the rest. I just had no idea where to start looking for him and I was pretty sure that asking Eric to help me find him was a bad idea. So far he'd been sweet as pie to me but I got the feeling he had quite the temper when he wanted to. But there was nothing so urgent that I needed to track down Bill right away. Besides, what would make me think an ex-boyfriend would even care that I was missing chunks of my memory?

"You should get some rest, Sookie. I'll make sure you're safe." He told me.

"Why wouldn't I be safe?" I asked.

He looked at me with a very serious expression on his face. "There is a witch by the name of Hallow who tried to extort some of my profits from me. She gave me an ultimatum and when I didn't give in to her demands, she followed through on her threat. I had assumed that whatever punishment she concocted would fall to me but I think she has put a spell on _you_ instead."

"Me? Why me?" That didn't make a whole lot of sense. Just what good would that do aside from angering Eric, who was, apparently, a very powerful vampire?

"My guess would be because she thinks that I would rather forfeit my business than lose you." Eric looked away from me.

"Would you?" I asked him. He didn't answer me right away, so I put my hand on his. I felt a slight aching in my chest but it was one of those broken heart sort of aches. "Eric?"

"You are the first human that I have come to care for in more than a thousand years, Sookie." Eric looked at me with sadness in his eyes but that quickly turned to anger. "When I track down that witch, she is as good as dead for what she has done to you."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme? Just get her to reverse the spell." I suggested.

"Oh she'll reverse it, lover." He promised me and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. "You'll be cured, I promise you. But for now, you should get your rest." He stood to go but I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Will you stay with me for a while?" I asked him. For whatever reason, I was afraid to be alone at the moment.

"Of course." He seemed happy at the suggestion of spending more time with me.

I adjusted myself on my bed and I heard his shoes hit the floor. I pulled back the blanket for him and he slid into bed beside me. I rested my head on the left side of his chest and when I didn't feel a heartbeat, that was when it hit me: he really was a vampire. There was no thudding under my ear, no rising and falling of his chest as he took breaths. And for the first time since I could remember, there were absolutely no brains trying to compete with mine. The world was silent and for reasons I didn't understand, I had never felt more loved.

* * *

**Sooooooo who thought we'd get amnesia!Sookie instead of amnesia!Eric, huh? I enjoy a good twist, I do. Thanks for reading!**


	26. To Wish Impossible Things

Chapter Twenty Six: To Wish Impossible Things

I was shaken awake by strong large hands. A slightly accented voice came close to my ear. It seemed to bypass my brain and go directly to my heart. My eyes opened reluctantly and there was Eric standing over me. He looked anxious and almost like he was ready for a fight. As if there were any way in the world I would try to fight him. He continued to shake me until I spoke.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We must go now, lover." He started to lift me up off the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean my Child is in trouble and you cannot be left here alone. It is too risky." Eric said as he stood up with me in his arms.

"Your child? You have a kid?" My jaw dropped. "I didn't think vampires could have babies."

"No, lover, not that kind of child." He seemed slightly impatient with me. "I am talking about Pam. I am her Maker and she is in trouble. I must go to her. Now." He said urgently.

"Eric, I think I'll be fine if I just stay here and sleep. I can call Sam in a few hours and he can stay with me-"

"A shifter will not be able to protect you." Eric spat with frustration and arrogance.

"A shifter?" I arched an eyebrow. Eric set me down and gripped my shoulders a little harder than he needed to to get my attention. "That hurts." I glared at him but he didn't let go.

"Sookie, I know you are confused right now and there are parts of your memory that are missing, but I need you to trust me. I swear to you that I would never put you in danger. You have my word that all I want is to keep you safe." He was staring at me, and again, I was starting to feel a little pressure in my head.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked him and he looked away as if he were ashamed with himself.

"When is the last time you read someone's mind?" Eric asked me.

"What?" My jaw dropped. But of course, if he was my boyfriend, he probably knew all about it. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"It is important, lover." He urged me. "You have never been able to read the brains of vampires, which was part of the reason you were attracted to our kind. Being with a vampire brought you silence. It was because of your ability that we were not able to glamour you. But if you cannot read minds anymore, I'm worried that someone _will_ be able to glamour you."

"And that would be dangerous?"

"It could get you killed." Eric told me and my heart skipped a beat.

"Why would someone want me dead? What have I been doing when I'm not working at the bar?" I asked him.

"Lover, I will explain it all, but right now we must go. The sun will be rising soon and I cannot leave you here alone." Eric insisted.

"Let me pack up a few things first." I started toward the closet but again he lifted me up.

"We don't have time for that. Whatever you need we can get later." He said as we sped through the house.

"I have to lock the doors, Eric. My keys are in the kitchen." I told him. He put me down so I could retrieve my purse. I wouldn't leave without it.

I locked the door once we were out on the front porch and I started toward the steps to walk to his car. But again, I was hoisted up and the next thing I knew we were up in the air. I would have shrieked if I wasn't afraid of alerting someone to the fact that we were flying. I held onto Eric because I didn't have a choice. I wondered how long it would take us to get back to wherever he was taking me, and how I would get back home if I decided I didn't want to stay. I should be having a say in the matter, shouldn't I? Danger or no danger, this was _my_ life we were talking about. But as we flew I watched the way his face changed as he thought. He looked at me from time to time and while he was frustrated with me for not remembering all of the things I should be remembering, I could tell he also cared a great deal about me.

I relaxed a little bit, but I still intended to make him tell me everything. We landed in the large backyard of a beautiful house surrounded by a wrought iron gate. I looked around for a minute, trying to remember if I had been here before but I couldn't picture it. Eric held my hand and pulled me toward the sliding glass doors that led into what I assumed was his house. He unlocked the door and pulled me inside. I stopped for a moment to look around with my mouth hanging open like I was catching flies. Eric left me standing there in the kitchen and sped off into the depths of his house. I had no idea where he'd gone, or why he was zipping around so quick.

"Sookie, I need blood!" Eric called out from somewhere inside his house.

"Blood?" I tried not to sound panicked.

"Yes, blood! It's in the refrigerator!" He called out.

My nose scrunched at the thought of his refrigerator being filled with gallons of blood the way mine would have gallons of milk. But when I opened the refrigerator door, all I saw were those same bottles as the one he'd shown me the night before. "How many?" I shouted.

"As many as you can carry!"

I felt my face drain of all its color. I didn't know what was happening but I was sure it couldn't be good. I grabbed three bottles in each hand, all of my years of waitressing experience on display, and bumped the refrigerator door closed with my hip. I walked out of the kitchen, but realized I had no idea where Eric had gone after that.

"Where are you?" I shouted.

"Upstairs. Second door on the right!" He shouted back and I was starting to think it might have been quicker if he had just come down himself to get what he needed.

I jogged up the stairs and found him in the second room on the right. I stopped short, not sure if I was really seeing what I was seeing. Eric was sitting on the edge of the bed and there was a rather gaunt blond woman attached to his wrist. Her eyes were big, blue and open wide. She was drawing heavily on Eric's wrist but it was a fairly silent activity. There were hideous blisters all over her arms, hands, face, neck and legs. They almost looked like burns or brands. I stood frozen in the doorway for a minute, watching as the wounds healed right in front of me, before Eric's voice boomed around the room.

"Sookie, I need the blood!" He shouted, startling me back to the present.

I set the bottles down on the table beside the bed before removing the cap from one and handing it over to Eric. Cold blood...can't imagine it tasted any better than warm blood. Still, he drained the bottle dry in just a few seconds. He'd give frat boys a run for their money, that's for sure. I uncapped a second bottle and handed it over to him. The wound in his wrist closed and the woman pulled her mouth away from his arm like it had gone rotten.

"Lilla docka, good to see you're safe." The woman smiled at me weakly.

"Lilla whata?" I looked from her to Eric. "Who are you?"

"She does not remember our kind, Pam." Eric informed her.

"_You're_ Pam?" My eyes bulged.

"But of course." Pam's smile was a little more defined now. "Who else would I be?"

"The witch has hexed her." Eric explained.

"She ruined my favorite pair of pumps. I'll have her kneecaps for this." Pam's voice was menacing but her smile was pleasant. What an interesting (and by that I mean terrifying) combination.

"You may have any part of her you wish, my Child, as long as I get her throat." Eric bit into his wrist again and put it back over Pam's open mouth.

"Her throat? Eric, what are you going to do with her?" My hands went up to my own throat, trying to imagine what it would feel like to be bitten by a vampire. I couldn't imagine it would feel all that great.

"First, she is going to remove the curse she put on you. Then, I'm going to let Pam have a little fun with her. When Pam's had her fill, I'm going to drain her dry." Eric turned to look me in the eyes when he said that last part.

"Oh no you're not. You're going to turn her over to the authorities." I insisted. Eric looked at my like I had two heads and not a brain in either of them.

"And tell them what, Sookie? That she put a spell on you to erase portions of your memory, among other things, and that she endangered the life of my Child and business partner? The police will do nothing, because there is nothing to be done. This is a matter for the Supernaturals of the world to handle and _we_ will handle it accordingly." Eric said in a decisive tone.

Pam pulled away from Eric's wrist long enough to say, "Here, here." Before going back to drinking from him.

"I need another bottle." Eric pointed to the table beside the bed.

"Get it yourself." I muttered and then spun on my heel and walked out.

I wasn't going to be a party to murder, even if it meant getting myself hurt in the process. I would not help take the life of a human. If Eric wanted to kill the witch for what she'd done, he would have to do it without any help from me.

* * *

I was sitting in the living room when Eric came down a little while later. I didn't know what he expected me to do in his house all day while he was resting. It wasn't as if I could wake him up if I got bored. I was stuck there with nothing to do. He had a television, but I'm not really one for sitting still. Besides, I sort of felt like I sitting duck. I found the remote for the television and turned it on. The volume was just a notch away from being muted and I wondered how Eric could possibly hear anything that came from the television. The good thing was, I could turn the volume all the way up the entire day and he wouldn't hear a thing. Of course, if someone decided to break into his house to come for me, he wouldn't hear that either.

"Even with a curse on your head, you are still the most stubborn woman I have ever met." Eric said when he got to the living room.

"I won't help you kill another human being, Eric." I said with conviction.

"I am not asking you to, Sookie." Eric sat down on the coffee table across from me. "Hallow assumed Pam was sent to protect you and so she placed a spell on Pam as well."

"Well if Hallow can put a spell on a vampire, then why didn't she just put a spell on you and be done with it? Why bother messing with me and Pam?" I asked him.

"Because she wants to see me suffer." Eric looked to the floor.

"You care a great deal for Pam, don't you?"

"She's loyal and she has done me great service over the years we have been together." Eric spoke as if he were giving her a reference for a job. He had reeled in his emotions rather quickly and I wondered if he always ran so hot and cold.

"Were you able to break the spell?"

"It was a simple spell that merely transported Pam from one place to another to get her away from you. She was sent to one of those tractor-trailer containers. The walls were made of silver, which greatly weakened her, and any part of her that touched the trailer was burned." Eric's rage was palpable but it didn't show in his face, which I found fascinating. He emotions were so raw. How tiring it must be to feel things so deeply all the time.

"I'm sorry, Eric. If I wouldn't have led Pam outside-"

"She would have gotten you both anyway." Eric cut me off. "Listen to me, Sookie. This is very important."

"Okay."

"A man by the name of Alcide is going to come here today to look in on you. It is very important that you open the door for no one else but him." Eric told me.

"Alright."

"I'm serious."

"I heard you."

We glared at each other. His rage turned into something a little less scary and a little more sexy. He leaned over and pulled me closer to the edge of the sofa. "You should ice your face." He turned my cheek so he could look at it a little closer.

"It'll be fine. I just need some sleep." I yawned carefully, since my face was still pretty sore.

"I have told Alcide to take you shopping for anything you need, and I mean anything." Eric said pointedly.

"Okay." I nodded as Eric stood up. "Eric, how long are you going to keep me here?"

"Hopefully not long, lover." He bent over me and tilted my face up to his. "I must rest now. I will see you at sundown." He kissed me softly and before I could open my eyes, he was gone.

* * *

I suppose it hadn't crossed Eric's mind to mention it, but Alcide was a pretty good looking man. Like Eric, he was very large man and there was an interesting vibration that seemed to come off of him at all times. I don't know if I sensed it because of my usual telepathic abilities, or if it was because that's just the way Alcide was. He had lovely green eyes the color of my lawn in the summertime and dark hair that curled just a little bit. He was very muscular and about Eric's height. Unlike Eric, Alcide was quite tan and had lots of dark hair on his thick forearms. I tried not to look too intimidated by him but it was hard not to.

"So you're the human that got Eric Northman to fall in love?" Alcide looked me up and down.

"Fall in love?" My eyebrows raised. Eric hadn't mentioned that he loved me. "Um, yeah, I guess so." I shrugged.

"I can see why." Alcide smiled at me.

"Thank you." I smiled in returned and closed the door behind him.

"So Eric tells me that I am to take you anywhere you want to go and stick with you at all times." He relayed to me.

"That's what I hear." I nodded.

"Well, what shall we do first?" He asked just as my stomach rumbled. I was starving and Eric didn't keep food in his house. There was no reason for it, from what he'd told me the night before. "I guess breakfast would be good?"

"Breakfast would be great." I nodded.

"How's your face?" Alcide pointed at my cheek.

"Sore, but I'll live. From what Eric told me I've lived through worse than this." I said uneasily.

It was odd that a perfect stranger knew more about my life than I did. Alcide looked at me with curiosity, like he expected me to explain what I meant, but since I didn't really know the sequence of events too clearly, I kept my mouth shut. I grabbed my purse and off we went to run errands. Over breakfast he told me about the construction company he owned with his father and how he had come to know Eric in the first place. Turns out Alcide's father was a bit of a gambler and had gotten in over his head with his debts. I started to wonder if my boyfriend wasn't a part-time loan shark in addition to a business owner. There was lots of things I didn't know about Eric, or so I thought, but it was hard to tell since there was a pretty big chunk of my life that seemed to be missing from my memory.

"Alcide do you know a vampire named Bill Compton?" I asked him while I was finishing my third cup of coffee.

"Can't say as I do." Alcide took a long drink of water. "Is he local?"

"I don't know. From what I've been told, I used to date him. He works for Eric, apparently, but I don't remember anything about him. I kind of wanted to track him down and talk to him so he can fill in the gaps for me." I told Alcide.

"You should talk to Eric about that." Alcide nodded.

"You think I should talk to my current boyfriend about getting in touch with my ex-boyfriend?" I scoffed at the suggestion.

"Sookie you seem like a real sweet girl. I don't know much about your life other than what Eric told me over the phone. You seem really important to him and I'm sure if you told him why you wanted to talk to this Compton guy, he would help you do that. Eric might be a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them. If he's told you to stay away from Bill, then I'm sure there's a good reason for it." Alcide warned me.

"What if it's not up to him to decide?"

"Then I certainly wish you the best of luck in finding the vampire you're looking for, but I can't help you with that." Alcide said with certainty.

"I understand." I got the feeling that Alcide worried it would cost him dearly to help and I didn't want to cause him any more trouble than I already was by taking up so much of his time. If he owned a business, surely it wasn't convenient to put it off to the side so he could bodyguard me all day.

After we finished eating, we went to a few stores so I could pick up the things I needed. We even went grocery shopping, since I was more of a do it yourself kind of girl when it came to food. I didn't want to have to order pizzas all the time, or run out to some silly fast food restaurant when I could cook my own meals. Of course, when we got back to Eric's house, I realized that Eric didn't have a single pot. So, we made another trip out and I bought cookware. Eric had tucked one of his credit cards in my purse before going up to his room for the day. I didn't want to be wasteful, but I had to eat.

By the time I had the things I needed it was late afternoon. Alcide sat down to watch the news and make some phone calls while I went up to the bathroom to take a shower. My face was sore and I was hoping to take a nap before Eric and Pam were awake again. I had a feeling they would probably keep me up for most of the night. While I was showering, I wondered what the point of flying to Shreveport had been when Eric's car was certainly fast enough to get us anywhere we wanted to go in a relatively short amount of time. I also wondered what had become of my own car, since Sam had mentioned Tara possibly dropping it off after the bar closed. I hadn't had a chance to look around back before we left and I couldn't remember if I heard someone drive up or not.

I got out of the shower and dried off. I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that was a little more low cut than I would have liked. I combed my hair and brushed my teeth and then walked around the second floor of Eric's house for a while. I wondered how many times I'd been to his home before and how many nights I'd spent in his bed. I was really curious to know if we'd gone further than kissing, but I was embarrassed to ask. If what Alcide said was true and Eric had fallen in love with me, it stood to reason that maybe we had slept together. Maybe Eric was this wonderful person who really did love me and treated me like a queen. Why wouldn't I love him back if that were the case?

It was just so frustrating not to be able to remember that part of my life. It was a pretty important part. And on top of that, I couldn't even read the minds of those around me for clues the way I usually would when I felt like a person was holding something back from me. I could easily pick out the missing pieces of the puzzle to get a complete picture. Eric had told me I'd never been able to read a vampire's mind, but right now, I'd settle for being able to read Alcide's. I got the feeling he knew exactly who Bill Compton was, but he just wasn't willing to tell me.

"So once Eric is awake, are you just going to disappear?" I asked Alcide once I came back downstairs.

"Not quite." Alcide turned off the television and sat forward in his chair. "Eric didn't tell you very much about me, did he?"

"No. All he said was that you were coming, not to open the door for anyone but you and you should take me anywhere I wanted to go." I sat down on the sofa.

Alcide sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm a Werewolf, Sookie."

"Okay." I shrugged. I was feeling a bit too numb at the moment to look or feel shocked.

"You don't seem surprised."

"Well, in the last twenty-four hours I found out that vampires and witches are real. Why not Werewolves too?" I shrugged again. "Can you change whenever you want?"

"I can." He nodded and then his hand began to change. My eyes widened and my mouth started hanging open again. "I won't change all the way because I'm pretty big when I do."

"You're pretty big now." I said and immediately felt like an idiot. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay." He actually laughed. "I'm a pretty big guy, I know that. I'm a full-blooded Were, which means that both my parents are werewolves."

"Oh." I looked down.

"I only change when I need to. I can control it. So mostly I just change on the full moon." He told me.

"Do you attack humans?"

"No." He said, but not too quickly like he was trying to hide something.

"So what do you do when you're a wolf?"

"I'm part of a pack. We go hunting together, howl at the moon, you know- the usual."

"You howl at the moon?" I giggled at the thought of it. I'm not sure why I thought it was funny. "How many members are there in your pack?"

"About twenty-five of us now, I think. Eric wants you to meet the Colonel later."

"The colonel?"

"Our packmaster. Eric has asked for our assistance in getting you cured." Alcide explained to me.

"And why would werewolves want to help a vampire?"

"Eric can be very convincing." Alcide cracked his knuckles and I had to agree with him there, but there was something else. "Hallow, the witch who cursed you, is also a werewolf."

I felt my heart drop into my feet. I didn't know much about the Supernatural World anymore, but everything I was learning told me that this couldn't possibly be a good thing. She was powerful enough as a witch, but to through in added power as a werewolf? I felt my stomach turn and for a split second, I gave up hope of ever being myself again. For just a second I resigned myself to losing all the memories that I seemed to have built in the last few months. While I could regain the knowledge, that wasn't what mattered to me. What mattered were those little moments that couldn't be recreated.

"Is she a member of your pack?" I asked Alcide.

"No, she's not. She's a lone wolf. At least she was until she formed her coven. She has now formed her own pack and they are becoming more and more powerful. If she's gutsy enough to try and extort money from a vampire, it's only a matter of time before she turns on her own kind and starts raiding the shifter communities." Alcide explained to me.

"So you can help me?" My hope started to flood back in.

"I'm going to do my best to convince the Colonel that you are worthy of it. If he agrees, then yes, I will do whatever I can to make sure you get your memory back and Hallow goes to a place where she can never hurt anyone else." Alcide smiled at me.

My smile faded. "You're going to kill her, aren't you?"

"If Eric doesn't get her first, absolutely." Alcide's green eyes were icy cold and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

I had a real bad feeling about how all of this was going to turn out. A _real_ bad feeling.

* * *

**So now we've got there weres in the mix. We're winding down, baby birds. Only 9 more chapters to go. Thanks for reading!**


	27. Uninvited

If you're as big of a music whore as I am, then you will appreciate the playlist I put together for this story. There were a few songs I wasn't able to find (which sucks, because they're totes awesome) but 31 of the 35 chapters are musically represented here. So if you're in need of an awesome mix to check out, please go here:

**http:/www(dot)playlist(dot)com/playlist/20268645387**

* * *

Chapter Twenty Seven: Uninvited

Meeting Colonel Flood was interesting. He was an impressive man and I liked his style. He was a straight shooter who had no qualms about putting Eric in his place, something I was sure Eric wasn't used to. While it was true that Eric was kind of a big deal in the vampire world, he didn't mean much to the Weres. I sat quietly through most of the meeting because I had no idea what to offer up. I didn't know enough about Werewolves, Vampires or Witches to be of much use to anyone and by the end of the whole thing I felt pretty useless. Actually, I felt like a great big burden- which I hated. I felt like an awful lot of fuss was being made over me and no one had bothered to ask me how I felt about what was going on around me.

I felt under-prepared for what I was dealing with and I didn't like that at all. I didn't like feeling like I was out of the loop on my own life. Not that I didn't appreciate all the trouble Eric was going to to make it right, but he was doing it as much for himself as he was for me. It was easy for me to see that he didn't like being outsmarted by this witch. He had been prepared to deal with whatever she threw at _him_, but he didn't take kindly to her messing with the people he cared about. Pam was kind enough to fill in a few of the blanks for me as well, telling me about the attack I'd suffered from some creature called a Maenad, whom I'd eventually helped kill.

But this Maenad wasn't the first thing I killed. With a little too much excitement, Pam told me how I'd nearly beheaded a man with a shovel after he tried to kill me. He was a serial killer going after fangbangers (people who like having sex with vampires, I guess?) and since I was involved with Bill, he decided to put me on his list of people to kill. But then, I thought of my Gran. I remembered her funeral and I knew she died. I just couldn't remember how. I wanted to ask Pam, but something told me she wouldn't have met my grandmother. I started to wonder what my Gran would have thought of all this and I was lost in those thoughts when Colonel Flood called my name.

"Yes, sorry." I snapped back to attention.

"I'd like a word with you, Sookie, if you don't mind." The Colonel said to me.

"Sure." I nodded and rose to follow him out of the house. I glanced over my shoulder at Eric, whose face was expressionless. Colonel Flood led me out the back door to his yard. "Not that I mind chatting with you, sir, but I don't know how much help I can be. My memory's a bit off at the moment." I said politely.

"Yes, Eric has explained that to me." The Colonel nodded as we walked along. "I was actually curious as to what a nice girl like you is doing getting mixed up with the vamps?"

His question caught me off guard. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Colonel, but are vampires really any worse than werewolves or witches?" I asked because I was slightly offended by the Colonel's implication and I was also curious.

"Vampires prey on humans."

"Werewolves don't?"

"Some do, but not the ones in organized packs. We hunt in nature, but we don't go after humans." The Colonel explained to me.

"Vampires have their synthetic blood. Hunting humans is no longer necessary." I argued and he laughed.

"That might be true but I can see two little dots there on the side of your neck that tell me you've had a bite or two in your time already." Colonel Flood pointed to my neck and my hand flew up to cover it.

"I don't think that's any of your business, sir." I tried to maintain a respectful tone.

"You're right, I suppose it's not." He agreed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What do you think of Eric?"

If I weren't sure Colonel Flood had already made up his mind about Eric, I might have been a bit more nervous about answering his question. "He's been good to me, but he tells me things that _he_ thinks I need to know instead of telling me everything. He seems like a very 'my way or the highway' kind of man and he doesn't like it when he's undermined or outsmarted." I said honestly from all I could gather.

"You have a keen eye, missy." The Colonel seemed impressed with me. "I expected his girlfriend would gush a bit more."

"I don't recall being his girlfriend, sir. But if it makes you feel any better, he's a good kisser." I shrugged and the Colonel laughed heartily.

He came to a stop and turned to face me. "We don't make it a point to get involved in vampire affairs, but this witch is a danger to our kind as well. We've lived quietly and we'd like very much to keep it that way. She's crossing all sorts of unethical lines in the Supe World and she needs to be stopped. I'm awful sorry she's making a mess of your life. If we agree to help you, I'm going to need a favor from you somewhere down the line. That's the way we do things." The Colonel informed me.

"What kind of favor?"

"Hard to say. Eric tells me you're a telepath?"

"When I'm not cursed." I nodded.

"You know this for sure?"

"Yes. I remember everything in my life except for any supernatural details of it. I remember what I ate for breakfast last Tuesday and I remember what time I got home from work on Thursday. I remember I wore my yellow nightgown on Monday..." I trailed off when the Colonel held up his hand to stop me from talking. "The point is, I know I have the ability. I just don't know how that can help you. I can't read vampire minds. I don't know if I can read a werewolf's."

"Well, we'll just have to test it out once you're right as rain." The Colonel told me.

"All you'll need is for me to read someone's mind?" I asked him.

"I can't make that promise to you, Miss Stackhouse, but I think that is the only service we would require of you." He told me.

"Alright. We have a deal." I held out my hand and he just stared at it for a second.

"We don't really shake hands around here." The Colonel told me.

"Oh." I withdrew my hand.

"Your word is good enough."

"Why are you trusting me?" I asked him.

"You strike me as an honest kind of girl who knows just how foolish it would be to make a promise she had no intention of keeping, especially when that promise is being made to a pack of wolves." The Colonel gave me a pointed stare.

"Right." I nodded, and smiled nervously.

Eric would be happy that the deal was done, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I wanted to get back to my life, but I wasn't crazy about being in debt to the Supernatural Community. If it was true all they would need was for me to read someone's mind I could handle that. But if that meant killing someone, or getting someone killed, I wasn't so sure I would be okay with it. Either way, I'd agreed to do what they asked. There was no going back on it now.

I was surprised when Eric headed back to Bon Temps after the meeting with Colonel Flood. I'd thought for sure we would go back to his house. Eric wasn't talking, but I didn't know if that was out of the ordinary or not. I knew I was pretty chatty, but something about Eric made me nervous. Not like I was afraid he was going to kill me kind of nervous, but like, in seventh grade when I'd see a cute boy kind of nervous. I didn't want to sound stupid but given my current situation, that was slightly unavoidable. So, I figured now was the best time to ask about our relationship and just how well we knew each other.

"Eric how well do you know me?" I asked him.

"Hard to say, lover." He looked over at me. "Just when I think I have you figured out, you always say or do something that surprises me."

"Really?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yes." He nodded.

"Do we love each other?" I watched his face closely, although that was hard to do in the darkness.

He seemed pained by my question and I swear I heard a faint whimper come from him. "Yes, we do." Eric couldn't look at me when he answered.

"How did we end up dating? You said I was already seeing Bill when we met."

Eric cleared his throat and gave me one of his devilish smiles. "We were in Dallas when it started. The night you located Godric everyone went back to his house. We were in the living room when this boy walked into the house with a bomb strapped to his chest. He detonated the bomb and I threw myself on top of you to shield you. I took a piece of shrapnel in the chest and I told you that if it wasn't removed, I would die. So, you sucked it out." Eric told me, and I didn't know what to think.

"I sucked a piece of shrapnel out of your chest and that's how we started dating?" I asked with disbelief.

"Vampire blood increases a human's libido, which is one of the reasons humans are so crazy about it. It also increases strength, speed and your senses. You spat out most of the blood you took in, but some of it still got in your system, making me seem more attractive to you." Eric explained to me.

"So we're together because of some chemical trick your blood played on me?"

"No, lover, that is not why." Eric looked over at me. "We were attracted to each other before that. Well, I know that I was attracted to you. Were it not for Bill being in the way, I think we would have gotten together long before we did."

"So I cheated on Bill to be with you?" I wanted to be sure.

"I don't see it that way, but I suppose by human standards, yes, you did."

I didn't know what to think about that either. Up until Bill, I'd never had a real boyfriend to speak of and the first one I had, I cheated on. What did that say about me as a person? I couldn't blame it on Eric's blood, even if it was powerful. I had a choice. I could have walked away from Eric, but I didn't. Instead I betrayed someone who obviously cared about me and I did it in the most vile way a person could possibly do it. I felt terrible.

"Eric, I think I need to talk to Bill." I looked over at Eric.

"Sookie, it would be best if you stayed away from Bill."

"You aren't the boss of me." I answered him, as immature as it was. "Besides, if I love you, then what are you so afraid of?"

"I am not afraid for me, lover. I can handle myself. I am afraid for you. Bill could very easily glamour you into doing something you do not want to do."

"You really think he would do something like that? If I was his girlfriend, then don't you think he'd have more respect for me than that?" I pointed out.

"Sookie, if you think of me as ruthless or controlling, then you don't want to get yourself tangled with Bill." Eric insisted.

"What aren't you telling me?" There had to be a reason why Eric was so determined to keep me away from Bill if jealousy wasn't it, although I got the feeling that jealousy definitely played a roll in Eric's decision making process. Eric's hesitation to answer my question frustrated me. "I know I'm not myself right now, Eric, but from all everyone's told me about my life, I'm a pretty strong woman. Sounds to me like I've been through an awful lot since I started spending time with vampires and I've handled it all pretty well. I don't appreciate you talking to me like I'm just some silly little girl without a brain in my head."

"I am only trying to keep you safe, lover."

"You keep saying that, but that doesn't answer my questions." I argued as we pulled off the highway onto Hummingbird Lane.

As soon as the car stopped, I got out and walked around to the back of my house with Eric right behind me. "Sookie, stop!" He zipped ahead of me and got in my path.

"Would you just leave me be?" I tried to shrug away from him. "I know you're trying to help me and I appreciate it, I do. And I'm sure when all of this is over, I'm going to go back to being the person I was before. I'll remember that I love you and I'll remember the reasons why I thought you were better suited for me than Bill was. But until that happens, I just need a little space to myself."

"Fine." Eric let go of me and then disappeared around the front of the house.

I paced around the backyard, trying to make some sense of all the things I'd learned about myself in the last few days. There were too many missing pieces and Eric's reluctance to explain things to me in a way that made sense just made it worse. Whatever he was hiding from me had to be pretty bad. I just wasn't sure if he was more worried about me or him. If what Colonel Flood said about vampires was true, then I had to believe Eric had been telling the truth when he said we loved each other. If we didn't, then he wouldn't be going out of his way to make sure I was not only safe, but put back the way I belonged? But I didn't like feeling like a puppet either.

There was rustling in the woods ahead of me and I heard someone walking toward me. A few seconds later a man appeared at the edge of the woods. His hair and eyes were dark. He looked solemn and quite pale. He looked to be in his later thirties. He wasn't as tall as Eric, or as big, but I could tell he was strong. He walked toward me slowly, with his head down. I figured I must know him, but I had no idea who he was.

"Sookie." He nodded, his voice weary.

"Hello." I nodded and waited for him to say something else to me. When he didn't, I asked, "Do I know you?"

He looked at me strangely. "What? Of course you know me." He smiled nervously.

I looked around, thinking maybe I should call for Eric. I didn't know who this person was in front of me and Eric had warned me to stay away from other people. "How do I know you?" I asked, but that alone would be enough for someone to gather something wasn't right with me.

"How do I know you?" Now he looked confused. "Well, I asked you to marry me once."

"Bill?" My face lit up. "You're Bill Compton?"

"Sookie, are you alright?" Bill asked me and for reasons I couldn't tell you, I threw my arms around him. He hugged me back, although not with the same eagerness that I had attached myself to him.

"Oh I'm fine." I said, although it was obvious that I wasn't. "I have been asking after you for a while now. I'm glad you're here." I smiled at him.

"You are?" He was surprised by this, which told me that however things had ended between us, it hadn't been good.

"Of course! I've just been in the craziest fog for the last couple of days and I was really hoping that if we crossed paths you could tell me some things." I explained to him.

Bill looked me up and down, trying to figure out what I was talking about. He was a handsome man, that's for sure. He had beautiful eyes and they were much more emotional than Eric's eyes were. I got the feeling that while Eric displayed passion and lust easily through his eyes, he kept a tighter reign on his other emotions. But not Bill. Bill didn't seem to have much trouble displaying how he was feeling at any given moment and I liked that about him. I grabbed his hand, unprepared for how cool his skin was. I knew he was a vampire, but it still threw me for a second.

"Sookie, what happened to you?" Bill asked me gently.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that Eric had gone inside. Lights were on in the kitchen and dining room and probably the living room too. I wondered if he was still pouting and decided it was better if I stayed outside to talk to Bill. If I got into trouble all I'd have to do is shout and he'd be at my side in a flash. Of course, that's assuming he wasn't already listening somewhere. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he already knew Bill was out here with me.

"Apparently some crazy werewitch put a spell on me. So now I don't remember you, Eric, Pam or any other supernatural creature that I've come in contact with." I explained to him.

Bill seemed stunned by this information. "I'm sorry, Sookie. If I had known, I would have come to you sooner."

"But we aren't a couple anymore, so why would you care?" I asked him as gently as I could.

Again, there was a pained face in response to one of my questions. I sure had a way of picking suitors who were easily hurt by me. "We did not part on good terms."

"Because I cheated, right?" I hung my head, feeling horrible about myself.

"No." Bill tilted my chin up. "Because I did something I shouldn't have."

"Worse than cheating?"

"Worse than cheating."

"What did you do? You didn't hit me, did you?"

"No. Sookie, I would never do something like that." He insisted.

"Then what?"

As luck would have it, that was when Eric chose to step out of the house. "Sookie, you should come inside now." He was looking past me to Bill, who was standing right behind me.

"I'll come in when I'm good and ready." I told Eric. "Besides, Bill and I are just talking."

"Sookie, you are not being reasonable." Eric was glaring at Bill now.

"Right, like ordering me around is reasonable." I argued and Eric was at my side a second later.

Much to my surprise, Bill stepped between us. I caught a brief flash of fangs and I felt goose bumps break out on my arms. That couldn't be a good sign. When Eric retaliated by showing his fangs as well, I stepped back between the two vampires. Maybe that was a stupid thing to do, but I was quite certain that neither of them would hurt me. I don't know why.

"This needs to stop right now." I looked back and forth between the two of them but they weren't listening to me anymore.

"Go in the house, lover." Eric said without taking his eyes off Bill.

"No. Not until you tell me why I have to stay away from everyone but you." I glared at Eric.

"Not everyone, Sookie, just Bill." He said, causing Bill to growl at him.

"Bill, why do I have to stay away from you?" I asked.

"Yes, Bill, do tell your former girlfriend why you are a danger to her." Eric smiled but it chilled me to the bone.

"Sookie, perhaps it is best that you go indoors for the evening." Bill suggested in a tone that was much more polite than the one Eric had used.

"No. I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me-" I was cut off there when Eric picked me up and carried me into the house. Bill followed right behind him but suddenly stopped on the mud porch. "Eric, put me down!" I pounded on his back with angry fists but I'm sure he barely even felt it.

"Sookie, invite me in." Bill called from the porch.

"No!" Eric just about dropped me flat on my butt.

"Bill, would you please come in?" I asked while glaring up at Eric and immediately, Bill was racing into my kitchen toward Eric.

_Oh shit_, I thought to myself and immediately regretted my invitation. I had just enough time to get out of the way before Bill was diving into Eric. The two of them rolled around on my kitchen floor for a minute, but it became painfully obvious which vampire was stronger when Eric grabbed Bill by his throat and threw him across the room. The move did little more than stun Bill for a second before he was back on his feet and charging at Eric again. But since Eric had quicker reflexes, he again had Bill by the throat. Only this time he slammed Bill's forehead against my counters. There was a sickening thud and blood began to run from Bill's head. The wound healed itself right in front of me and Bill retaliated with a swift punch to Eric's jaw. Blood flew from Eric's lip and landed on my refrigerator. The fighting continued and when I saw that Eric most definitely had the upper hand in the fight, I remembered what Sam had told me.

"Bill I rescind your invitation!" I shouted.

Bill looked up at me with devastation, while Eric looked smug. Bill got up quickly and walked out of my house. Eric laughed at how quickly Bill retreated. He looked to me with his fangs run completely out and a lusty grin on his face. He advanced toward me, I assume, with plans to throw me down on the floor and do all sorts of naughty things. I backed against the wall and he planted his hands on either side of my head. If he couldn't inflict any more punishment on Bill, he would take it out on me. Maybe the regular me liked that sort of thing, but I wasn't feeling at all sexy at the moment. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I _liked_ Eric at that point.

He lowered his mouth to mine and was just about to kiss me when I said, "Eric, I rescind your invitation."

Eric couldn't have looked more shocked than if I had broken off a table leg and stuck it in his chest. Almost as if he couldn't control it, his legs began to carry him out the back door. He stood on my mud porch, looking completely stunned by what I had just done. The pain in his eyes just about broke my heart. I started to cry as I walked to the door. Maybe it was a mistake to send him out, but I didn't feel like I had a choice. I closed the door and locked it, wondering how long it would take before I stopped crying over a vampire I couldn't remember anything about.

* * *

**Okay before you hate me for the way this chapter ended just try and put yourself in Sookie's shoes. She doesn't remember either of these men and they're both dangerous/deadly creatures who seem to want her. She doesn't remember the back story or the reasons why she should stay away from Bill. Give Sookie a break just this once *bats eyelashes* I'll post again later. Thanks for reading!**


	28. You Oughta Know

Chapter Twenty Eight: You Oughta Know

I woke up the next morning feeling about as terrible as I ever felt. I could barely eat and I couldn't seem to stop crying. I don't know what I was most upset about and I had a few things on my list. I didn't like being in debt to the werewolves, but that was really the least of my worries. I didn't like finding out that I had cheated on the first real boyfriend I had. I didn't like that Eric and Bill had fought so brutally over me. Being a waitress in a bar had forced me to be witness to a few serious fights and none of them had been so soberingly hate-filled as the one I'd witnessed the night before. I didn't like myself very much for turning Eric away the way I did, but at the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. And of course, once I realized it was silly it was too late. What kind of girl would I be if I chased after him and begged him to come back inside?

I let my pride get the better of me and I was paying for it now. Not to mention, I was still in danger and I had no idea who I could trust and who I couldn't. I called Sam to tell him I wasn't ready to come back to work yet and he assured me I could take all the time I needed. I was thankful to him for it, but I was worried my bank account couldn't handle too many more missed days of work. I sat in my kitchen drinking coffee and trying to eat some toast, but I just wasn't hungry. All I wanted was to go back to bed and cry some more. I couldn't figure out why I was so sad and I thought if I could figure that out, then maybe I could start to feel better.

I was laying in bed staring at the ceiling when I heard a car crunching on the gravel outside my house. I didn't really want to see anyone. I felt terrible and I was pretty sure I looked it. I hadn't brushed my hair or teeth yet and I was still in my jammies and bathrobe. I just wanted to be alone. I heard a car door open and close and a few seconds later heavy feet were coming up my front porch. There was a hard knock on my door and when I didn't answer, whoever my caller was started ringing the bell. Then there was a voice.

"Sookie, I know you're here!" The voice sounded faintly familiar, as new to me as it was.

I got out of bed and shuffled to the front door. "What are you doing here, Alcide?" I asked once I'd opened the door. "How'd you know where I live?"

"Stackhouse isn't a real common name." He smiled at me.

"Right." I sighed and stepped out of the way to let him in.

I didn't know a whole lot about Alcide, but he seemed liked a decent enough guy. He was as easy to talk to as he was to look at. And unlike _some_ supes I might mention, he actually answered my questions. But then again, I suppose Alcide figured he had nothing to lose by telling me the truth. We didn't have a long and complicated history full of ridiculous dramatics or near death experiences. We were fresh faces to one another. Blank slates, so to speak.

"You look awful." He said once he was inside.

"So glad you could stop by." I said sarcastically as I closed the door.

"Sorry, it's just that you struck me as more of the kind of girl who didn't let anything get her down." He explained. "What's eating you?"

I gestured for him to take a seat in the living room and he sat on my Gran's old couch. He looked like a giant on the couch, much the same way Eric did. Just the thought of Eric brought fresh tears to my eyes and I was amazed there was anything left in me. How was it possible to long for someone I knew so little about? And I knew I was being silly since all I had to do was call him and we could work things out.

"There was a fight here last night." I sniffled and reached for a tissue.

"What kind of fight?" Alcide asked.

"The vampire kind." I dabbed at my eyes with a fresh tissue. "My ex showed up and Eric didn't take too kindly to it."

"Can't say as I blame him there." Alcide said with a half smile.

"If I knew the whole story, I would feel better, you know? But there are pieces of the puzzle that I'm missing, so I don't understand why Eric is keeping me so closed off from everyone. I'm not used to it. I'm used to going where I want, when I want, and I'm not used to having someone like Eric around to tell me what to do." I explained to Alcide.

"Looks to me like you've been doing an awful lot of crying over someone you don't remember." Alcide watched as I pulled yet another tissue from the box. I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room and noticed how red and puffy my eyes were.

"It's not just about him." I blew my nose as quietly as I could.

"Maybe not directly, but it all seems to link back to him." Alcide put his big arm up on the back of the couch and I was tempted to curl into a ball beside him. He was just that inviting.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Alcide?" I asked him.

"Used to. She and I...well...it's complicated." He looked away.

"Believe me, I know all about complicated." I tried to laugh, but it mostly came out sounding like a choked up whimper.

"It'll get better, Sookie." He said with encouragement.

"And what if it doesn't? What if the witch won't tell them how to reverse the spell? What if I'm stuck like this?"

"Then you have a choice to make. Well, you have a choice to make either way. You have to decide how you feel about Eric being in your life and you go from there." Alcide advised and leaned a little closer to me. "But for what it's worth, I never would have thought that Eric would have feelings for anyone, let alone a human. You must be quite a woman."

"You think?" I sniffled again.

Alcide removed his arm from the back of the couch and leaned even closer to me. He looked past my puffy eyes and wild hair and kissed me. "I definitely think." He said once he pulled back.

* * *

Thankfully, Alcide didn't stay for much longer after he kissed me. Frankly, I didn't need any more confusion. I had enough on my plate without adding a horny werewolf to the mix, although he'd made it obvious that he would be willing to stay for as long as I needed him to. After he left I took a long hot shower. I emerged from my cloud of steam to find Pam sitting on my bed waiting for me. Did I make it a habit to hand out invitations to vampires? I would need to have a serious talk with myself once the spell was reversed.

"Lilla docka, you look frightful!" Pam gasped when she saw me.

"Thanks." I muttered and continued to towel dry my hair. "What can I do for you, Pam?"

"I am not here for me." Pam stood and glided toward me.

She was wearing pretty red pumps and I wondered how many pairs of high heels she had. Personally, I didn't care much for shoes like that, but I spent too much time on my feet fetching pitchers of beer. Comfort was more important to me than style. Clearly, the same could not be said for Pam. I wondered how old she was when she'd been turned. I knew Eric turned her, I just didn't know where she came from, or when it had happened. I wanted to ask, but I figured I'd get the same bored look from her that I seemed to get from Eric when I asked too many questions.

"Then why are you here?" I asked her as I began to flip through the clothes in my closets. I found that I mostly had dresses hanging in there, but I didn't remember buying a single one of them.

"I came to tell you why Eric is keeping you away from Bill." Pam had my full attention.

"Why won't Eric tell me?" I asked her.

"You would have to take that up with him. He doesn't know I'm here." Pam confided.

"I see." I pulled a dress from the closet before going to my dresser to get the appropriate undergarments.

"You started seeing Bill because you liked the silence he provided for you. Since you cannot read the minds of our kind, it was nice to be able to find someone to share your time with and you didn't have to worry about catching onto their thoughts." Pam explained to me.

"So Eric told me." I called from the bathroom.

"The night you first came to Fangtasia, Bill was jealous of the way Eric looked at you." Pam opened the bathroom door without knocking and I nearly fell over into the bathtub. "Because Eric is his superior, he could have demanded that Bill give you over to him if you were inclined to go along with him."

"So why didn't he?" I asked.

"Because Eric did not want to win you that way. He knew you would be displeased. Besides, he knew you would figure it out for yourself someday. It was only a matter of time. While it may not seem like it, Eric has a wealth of patience. He just uses is sparingly, and only when he deems it worthy."

"So you think I should be flattered?" I snorted at the suggestion.

"And humans wonder why vampires are superior to them in all aspects?" Pam shook her head with discontent, but continued on. "When Godric went missing and you offered to help find him Eric saw an opportunity. The bomb going off wasn't part of the plan, of course, but it _did_ end up working out in Eric's favor, since it bonded you to him. I do not know all of the details of what happened while you were in Dallas, but I do know that when you came back Eric stayed on here to help with that pesky Maenad who had tried to curl your flesh like a Christmas ribbon. When I sensed Eric was in danger, I tracked him here to Bon Temps. Eric sent Bill to visit Sophie-Anne, the vampire queen of Louisiana, to find out all he could about how to kill a Maenad. Bill was not happy to go, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. When he returned, he had learned the way to kill her and so we sent you in as bait. She took you, hook, line and sinker. Then we sent in the Shifter you work for to be her sacrifice. She took him as well. She stabbed him in the heart and when you smashed her offering, she chased you into the woods. Bill healed the Shifter and the Shifter changed into a bull. The Maenad assumed the Shifter was the one she had been waiting for and the Shifter gored her in the heart. She died in the woods.

"After that, Bill confronted you about your feelings for Eric. You admitted they had changed and it caused a rift to form between you. From what Eric reluctantly told me, you went with Bill to Vermont to see if you could patch things up in your relationship. Bill proposed to you, but you'd overheard Bill and Eric arguing the night Bill confronted you about your feelings for Eric. You knew why Bill had come back to Bon Temps and you were terribly upset by it. Sookie, Bill came back here because he was ordered to. He was ordered to get close to you, to gain your trust so he could present you to the queen of Louisiana so she could claim you as hers." Pam explained to me and it all made sense all of a sudden.

"Did Eric know why Bill was back?"

"Not until the night of the argument he had with Bill. And to make matters worse, Bill had grabbed you pretty hard. You had Eric's blood in your system at the time and Bill was still able to leave marks on your arms." Pam pointed and I foolishly looked as if they might still be there.

"Bill said he never hit me." I was talking to myself.

"He paid dearly for it, Sookie." Pam said with a menacing smile. "I applied the silver myself." She looked delighted, which sickened me.

"Silver?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, silver. It weakens our kind. That's why I was all burned up when you saw me the other day." She explained like I was a mentally deficient third grader. Although, at the moment, I kind of felt like one.

"Right, of course. I forgot." I shook my head, trying to play it off.

"Anyway...the point is, Eric is worried that since you can't stop a vampire from glamouring you anymore that Bill might try to use his influence to get you to agree to go to Sophie-Anne. Bill has failed his queen once and if she finds out that you are weakened, she will come here and glamour you herself." Pam warned me. "Eric is taking a very big risk with his own life by trying to save yours."

Pam stepped closer to me and I thought she might hit me. Instead, she turned me around and zipped up my dress. "Eric gave you this." She said as she smoothed the back of it for me and I thought maybe she was getting a little too hands-on for my liking.

"He did?" I didn't remember. "It's a beautiful dress."

"Eric has good taste." Pam adjusted one of the straps on the dress and then I pulled out of her way.

"And the other dresses in my closet, are those from him too?" I asked her, figuring if anyone would know the answer it would be Pam.

"Yes." Pam told me.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. "He really loves me, doesn't he?" It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Pam answered it anyway.

"Against his better judgment and my attempts to tell him to forget about you." She sighed.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" I asked her.

"I do not like that he loses focus because of you. You have become a weakness and Eric is not a man known for his weaknesses. But, I also know that my Maker is a smart man, so if he sees something in you worth all of the risk, you can't be that bad." Pam exhaled heavily.

"So you think I should find him and work things out with him?" I asked her.

"I think you should comply with his wishes. When all of this is over, you're going to remember that you care for him the same as he cares for you, only you won't understand why he's so distant toward you. Fix it before it's too late." Pam advised.

"Are we friends, Pam?"

She laughed quietly. "No, lilla docka," She put her cool hand back on my shoulder and said, "Just think of me as your Dear Abby."

* * *

After Pam left, I decided I had a stop to make before I could continue onto Shreveport to find Eric. I looked in the phone book and found Bill's address and phone number. Imagine my surprise to find out he _did_ live in the old Compton house across the cemetery from me. I parked in front of his house and walked up the front steps. I had just raised my hand to knock when the door opened. Bill stood there looking glum and I started to wonder if that was his default setting. There were no signs of the fight he'd been in the night before, and I marveled at it for a second before remembering why I'd come in the first place.

"Is it true that you only started seeing me because someone told you to?" I didn't bother with the usual polite pleasantries my Gran had raised me to use as a good Southern girl.

"Yes." Bill didn't bother to sugarcoat it for me. "But that isn't the reason I stayed with you for so long."

"Why should I believe you?" I asked.

"Because it's the truth, and because I love you." He told me.

I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes and I could feel that same pressure on my brain that I'd felt when Eric had nearly glamoured me. I looked away quickly. "Don't do that." I shook my head. "Don't you dare try to use mind control on me. Not after all you put me through." I wouldn't look at him and when he put his hand on my shoulder, I whirled around and slapped him hard. "You asked me to marry you without having the guts to tell me the truth. How could you? How could you think I would never know? Do you really think that little of me?" I demanded.

Bill didn't answer and for the moment, that was answer enough. I just stood there staring at him with as much hatred as I could muster. He kept his eyes on the planks of his porch, which I was thankful for. I'd never hit anyone before. At least not that I could recall, and I didn't want to have to do it twice in one night.

"Sookie, I wouldn't have let the queen mistreat you." He told me, but that did little to make me feel much better.

"But you would have let her use me, right?" I spat at him and he flinched a bit. When he said nothing more, I started down the stairs to my car. "I know I wasn't perfect to you, Bill, but I'm sure I never lied when I told you that I loved you. I'm glad I don't remember you." I got in my car and drove away before he could argue, or try to stop me.

I knew where I was going. I just hoped I wasn't too late to make things right.

* * *

Pam had given me Fangtasia's address while she was at my house. She'd told me I would find Eric there later on. Then she had to explain to me what Fangtasia was, since I had no memory of it. She warned me to stay away from other vampires besides her and Eric. When I'd asked why, she told me that I had a trace of fairy blood in my system and fairies are irresistible to vampires. I started to wonder if maybe that was part of the attraction Eric felt toward me. If his blood was attractive to me, then maybe mine did the same. With all of this blood sharing, how did we even know our feelings for each other were real? I had lots to think about while I drove to Shreveport. Yet, even with all of the questions I had about my life, I was sure I needed to see Eric. I couldn't explain why, but I just felt like I needed him to be closer to me.

A vampire I didn't recognize was at the door, but he certainly seemed to know who I was. He didn't even ask to see my driver's license. He just stamped my hand and in I went. I expected to feel out of place at the bar, but I didn't. It felt oddly familiar to me and I wondered if maybe my sub-conscience was remembering something that I just couldn't bring to the surface. I looked around the bar, hoping to catch sight of Pam if I couldn't find Eric. The bar wasn't too busy, but it was still early. I assumed business would pick up in the next hour or two. I knew on Friday nights Merlotte's would get a trickle of people after work and by nine o'clock, it was almost standing room only in there. We were always packed until closing time and I figured that Fangtasia was probably the same way. Only, Fangtasia stayed open much later than Merlotte's did.

I looked around and tried not to let the fangbangers get to me. They all looked so sad and desperate, the way they were throwing themselves at the vampires. Seemed to me, from all I knew about my own life, the best way to bag yourself a vamp was to pretend like you didn't give a rat's ass. I'm not sure if that had worked with Bill, but it had definitely worked with Eric- at least that's what I'd gathered from Pam. I spotted her at a table at the far end of the bar. She looked almost majestic, the way she was sitting and I envied her confidence. Of course, she had nothing to fear. No one was going to glamour her, or try to force her to do something she didn't want to do. She was in complete control of her life and at the moment, that was one of two things I wanted most in the world. The other, of course, was to find Eric.

I nodded to her when Pam nodded at me and then I went on about my search. I was surprised I wasn't approached by a vampire, but then again, they had plenty of willing admirers to keep them occupied. Maybe Eric had made it clear to his minions that I was to be left alone. I didn't know and I certainly couldn't remember. I walked through the crowd, thinking Eric would be easy to spot. His size alone made him stand out, but it was his personality that really filled the room. When I spotted a circle of fangbangers panting and whimpering at the opposite end of the bar from where Pam was sitting, I felt myself pulled toward it. I circled the group until I got a glimpse of shiny blond hair. It was almost like I could smell Eric's power radiating from the center of all the commotion.

I was somehow able to push my way to the center of the group and there was Eric, talking with a pretty blond woman with big brown eyes. She was about my size and had all my same curves. Her eyes were just as bright and her hair was even styled similarly to mine. She seemed enthralled by Eric and I wondered if he'd glamoured her into coming to sit beside him, or if she'd done so willingly. Eric was speaking in low tones so I couldn't hear what he was saying to her, but she didn't seem to have any trouble understanding him. When he reached out to touch her neck with her fingertips, she moaned softly, her eyes closing and her head rolling to the side. I could see goose bumps on her arms. Eric's fangs ran out and the fangbangers surrounding the group all lurched forward a little. Each of them would be more than willing to take this woman's place if she decided she wasn't a willing participant in whatever Eric had in store for her.

If Eric knew I was there, he paid me no mind. There were signs posted all over the bar, alerting everyone to the strict No Biting policy. I wondered just what Eric was going to do with this woman if he couldn't feed on her. He moved closer to her and breathed in her scent. His lips were very close to her neck and I could feel a palpable lust in the air around me. The fangbangers were all tensing up with anticipation. If they couldn't have Eric feed on them personally, they would get off just by watching him feed on someone else. I seemed to be the only one in the crowd that wasn't at all amused by this display. In fact, it downright hurt me.

If we were in love, as he'd claimed we were, then how could he do this? I had been wrong to rescind his invitation, but I hadn't done it so I could go out and find someone else. How could he hold this against me when I had no recollection of the relationship we shared? I wasn't myself at the moment and it didn't seem fair that I should be punished for it. But then again, it wasn't exactly fair that I was punishing _him_ for it either. The woman opened her eyes in a dreamy sort of way when Eric's fangs pressed against her throat. He didn't bite her, but he was very close to it. I was sure that if they hadn't been in public view in the middle of the bar, he would have done just that.

Part of me wanted to turn and run. If this was how he got back at me, then why should I bother with him? On the other hand, what if this was all a display designed to make me angry? Either way, I wasn't sure that I liked it. But, if I wanted to find a way to work things out with Eric, I was going to have to swallow my pride a little. I was going to have to step up and challenge him. I got the feeling this wouldn't be the first time I'd had to do it, but I was afraid. I don't know if I was more afraid of a violent reaction from him, or if I was afraid that he just wouldn't care. There was only one way to find out.

I pushed my way through the crowd and I stood right in front of him. He turned his head just a little so that he was looking right at me. "Sookie, how nice of you to join us this evening." He said in what was probably meant to be a charming voice. To me, it just sounded malicious.

"So is this how it is between us? I do something you don't like, and you find another woman?" I demanded, my hands on my hips, trying to look as tough as I could. Not easy to do when your lower lip is quivering and you can feel tears building in your throat.

"Please excuse us, Marys, Miss Stackhouse and I have business to attend to." Eric rose quickly and grabbed me by my arm.

The trance she was in seemed to snap and she looked up at Eric like she was bored out of her skull. "Whatever." She looked away from us.

Eric pulled me through the crowd and toward a doorway in the back. I tried to tug my arm free, but he wasn't letting go. He marched me into what I assumed was his office and let me go once the door was slammed shut behind him. I stood there glaring at him for a moment, waiting for him to answer my question, but of course, he clammed up. What a frustrating creature he was!

"I came here because I thought maybe I overreacted last night when I rescinded your invitation. I sent Bill away because I knew he wasn't going to tell me what I wanted to know and because I didn't want you to kill him. I sent _you_ away because I didn't want you thinking that you get to make all my decisions for me. I'm not completely helpless." I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was failing at it. I realized I sounded like a spoiled child in some regards, but I couldn't help myself. "And you seem to be forgetting that I know as much about you as I know about Bill. How am I supposed to trust someone I don't know when you're telling me how much danger I'm in? Why should I believe that you aren't out to hurt me just like everyone else? And then to make matters worse I come here to apologize to you and I find you with some girl who looks an awful lot like me. What would have happened if I didn't show up, Eric? Would you have fed on her? Would you have had sex with her?"

"Would it bother you if I did either of those things?" Eric asked me with a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Would it bother _you_ if I let another vampire bite me and make love to me? Because I could. I could walk out of this room right now and I could offer myself to any vampire out there if that would make you happy." I offered in a overly dramatic sort of way. He seemed slightly enraged at the mere suggestion of such a thing and since it was nice to see him reacting to something for a change, I continued. "Or maybe I should go back to Bon Temps and tell Bill that I made a mistake by leaving him for you?"

That did it. I had pushed a great big button that I was never supposed to push. Eric's fangs were out and he was rushing at me. I would have screamed if I weren't caught so completely off guard by it. I backed up against his desk, and nearly fell over it. I tried to push him away, but that was an epic failure on my part. He wasn't going anywhere. He had a point to make, and he was going to make it. I was going to listen, or die trying to free myself.

"For a thousand years I felt nothing. Even before I was turned, I never allowed myself to feel anything real for any person. Then I see you one night and everything in my world shifted. I didn't even know your name, but you invaded me. For the first time in more than a thousand years, I had feelings for a person. I told you I loved you and the next day you were cursed. It kills me that you cannot remember the things we have shared and that I am to blame for the situation you are in. If it weren't for me, you would be off living your life somewhere. You would be happy. You would be whole. A very big part of you is missing right now and because of that, a part of me is missing too. I do not like feeling this way. I do not like feeling helpless. I do not like that you are the one who is paying for my decisions. In your eyes, that makes me a monster." Eric told me and I felt like my heart was about to beat right out of my chest.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked him. "You said you tell me the truth and maybe you do, but you don't tell me everything. By keeping secrets from me, you are still lying to me."

"Words do not come easy for me." Eric told me, but I knew that was a load of crap.

"Could have fooled me. You have no trouble ordering people around." I argued.

"That is because I am the Sheriff. I do not need to discuss the reasons for my requests." Eric glared at me.

"Well I'm not one of your minions, Eric." I glared back just as hard.

Something changed in the air between us and it was almost as if a light bulb had gone on in Eric's head. I got the feeling this wasn't the first time we'd had an argument similar to this one and I wondered how many times we'd had it. Was I always this feisty with him, or did I usually back down? My gut told me that the former was more likely, since it wasn't like me to just sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut when I saw something going wrong. I wasn't really the doormat kind of girl and I was a little proud of myself for holding onto that piece of me even with the curse I was under.

"I know that I'm stubborn." I offered, trying to soften the anger that had built up between us. "I know I say and do things sometimes that are frustrating to everyone else. I know I make decisions in the moment that I sometimes regret later on."

"Am I one of those regrets?" Eric asked me, which I hadn't been expecting.

I thought about it for a second and I weighed all of the things I knew about Eric. While it was true that he was controlling and a little on the arrogant side, he was also very loyal and protective. If he really didn't care about me, he would have abandoned his No Biting policy and had his way with that fangbanger look-alike that was sitting out in his bar right now, waiting for him to come back to finish what he started. He wouldn't be standing here telling me that he loved me and that he wanted to keep me safe. He would just let me go and wish me the best of luck. He wouldn't be humbling himself to werewolves or fighting with other vampires to make sure that I wasn't being taken advantage of in my weakened state.

"No. No, you are not." I concluded and looked up at him.

He seemed relieved by that, although I was feeling a whole new kind of tension in my body. I didn't know if Eric and I had had sex before, but I decided that I didn't want to know. Part of me figured if we felt so passionately about each other and we fought as much as we seemed to, that we probably did. But I didn't want him comparing me to me, as silly as that might sound. I searched my memory as hard as I could, but I couldn't recall a single intimate thing I had done with anyone, outside of the rare goodnight kiss from one of the few boys I'd dated. Most boys didn't make it that far into the date. I would have to abandon them much sooner for one reason or another. Of course, now that I couldn't read minds, I still only wanted a vampire. Go figure.

He turned to walk away from me, but I grabbed his hand. He turned back to face me and I pulled him closer to me. "Kiss me." I said in a slightly eager voice.

He did as I asked and when he did I felt my insides light up. While it was true I didn't have many memories of being kissed, none of those kisses compared to what I was currently experiencing. His tongue darted out of his mouth and parted my lips to find mine. It was a new experience for me and I worried I was doing something wrong. One of his large palms cradled the back of my head, tugging slightly on my hair and I felt something in me melting. I made a small whimpering sound as the kisses changed from gentle to passionate and then to frenzied. He pressed against me and I could feel that he wanted more than kisses.

I pulled away from him suddenly and decided I had changed my mind- I wanted to know just how far we'd gone in the past. "Eric, wait a minute." I put my hands on his chest. If he were human, I was sure he would be breathing as hard as I was at the moment. "Have I...have we made love before?" I asked him.

His large hand slipped from behind my head so that it curled around where my shoulder met my neck. His hand was cool against my warm skin and the pressure he applied was gentle but firm. He looked me in my eyes, keeping his beautiful face close to mine. He kissed me again and I felt my knees go weak. It was a good thing I was already slumped against the edge of his desk, or I'm quite sure I would have just melted into a puddle right in front of him.

Eric pulled his mouth away from mine in a reluctant kind of way and with a deeper than usual voice he said, "We have, lover, many times."

My stomach flip-flopped. I felt a fresh blush painting my cheeks and heat in the lower parts of my body. I put my hand on his and pulled it lower to my chest so he could feel my heart thudding hard underneath it. My breath caught as his left hand moved up my side so he had both hands on my chest. I looked down at his large hands for a few seconds and wondered what I should do next. Since I couldn't think of anything else at the moment, I grabbed his face and kissed him again. We picked up where we'd left off in that frenzied pace and his hands roamed around my body before reaching around behind me to unzip my dress. I heard the slight sound it made as the zipper went down my back. His cool fingers grazed my skin as his hands moved back to my shoulders to pull the straps away from my body. I let go of his face so he could pull the top of my dress off. The material pooled around my hips and would have fallen off altogether if I hadn't been sitting down.

I let my hands run up and down his sides and I could feel tight muscles stretching over his large frame. I felt his ribs under my fingers and as my hands moved lower, I felt the bones in his hips. My hands started moving up again and this time they took his tight black t-shirt along with them. I pulled my lips away from his long enough to get his shirt off before depositing it on the floor. In return he reached around my back and unhooked the strapless bra I was wearing. I was suddenly very aware of the weight in my breasts when Eric pulled away the material and let it fall to the floor on top of his shirt. His mouth moved from mine, stopping at my neck and ears for a few seconds before moving on to my collarbone and then to my breasts. I gasped to feel his mouth there and my hands were in his hair, tugging on it slightly just as he had done with mine.

He looped one strong arm around my waist and picked me up easily, as if I were nothing more than a toddler. With his other long arm, he cleared his desk of everything on it. He set me down on the cool surface and it was an interesting contrast to the heat I felt radiating from my body. I sat on his desk with my legs parted just enough for him to stand between them. While he'd held me, my dress had fallen to the floor and he nudged it aside with his foot. I was eye level with his chest and I leaned forward to kiss him there. If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me. I tried to replicate the things I had felt on my own body, and when he groaned a little, I figured I was on the right track.

"Bite a little." His voice had gotten even deeper and his accent was more pronounced than it usually was. Just when I thought Eric Northman couldn't get any sexier, I was proven wrong. I dragged my teeth on his chest and he groaned again before my lips closed around one of his pinkish-brown nipples. Were his heart beating, I could have felt it under my mouth. I bit him gently and his hands were back in my hair. "Again." He said and I did ask he asked.

My hands moved from his waist to the small of his back and then down to his butt. It was muscular, but still round, and I found myself squeezing which only pulled him closer to me and opened my legs a little wider. I wondered how many times I had done the very thing I was doing right that moment. I stopped thinking about it when I felt his hands on the inner part of my thighs. I gasped a little, because no one had ever touched me there. I realized I wanted him to very badly and I just about squirmed by the time his hand made its way to the very center between my legs. I felt muscles I didn't know I had contracting at his touch and there was this slight aching for him that happened simultaneously where his hand was and in my heart.

He pushed aside the material of the little white panties I was wearing and his fingers began probing me. Immediately I could tell this wasn't his first time the way it was mine. He knew exactly where to go and what to do, and in seconds I was panting and gasping. I laid back on the desk with my eyes closed, trying to commit all of this to memory. Once the spell was broken, I hoped I would remember this. For all I knew this was all just some crazy dream and I would wake up only to find out that vampires weren't real and I was doomed to a life of slinging beer and buffalo wings for people who thought I was crazy. If that was the case, then I was going to enjoy every second of this I possibly could before daylight pulled me from this wonderful fantasy I was having.

"Look at me, lover." Eric was on his knees in front of me. In my haze I hadn't realized he'd pulled off my panties and was perfectly positioned between my legs.

I gulped air and looked down the length of my body at him. I watched as he kissed from the inside of my knee up my thigh. He stopped there, concentrating on one specific spot and I wondered what was so special about it. But I watched him all the same. His eyes met mine and I thought something inside of me was going to burst into flame from the intensity of his stare. He turned his head to the other side and repeated his motions, only this time, he slid one of his long fingers inside of me. My head sank back again as he moved it expertly. Not too fast, or too deep, and when he added a second finger, I cried out. It was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt in my life. I wanted more and I wondered how I ever got anything else done if this is what Eric always made me feel.

His mouth moved up just a little and his tongue flicked against me in a delicious way. My back began to arch and I started seeing little spots of color behind my eyes. "Oh, don't stop." I moaned when his mouth moved again. His fingers moved a little faster and then I felt his fangs pressing against my thigh. I couldn't recall ever being bitten before.

"Watch me, Sookie." He said in a breathy voice.

I looked down at him and when he was sure he had my attention, he sank his fangs into my thigh. My body tightened around his fingers and I felt myself shaking as he lapped at the wound on my thigh. I cried out, saying his name over and over again since I could think of nothing more clever than that. My legs felt slightly numb after that from just hanging off of his desk and everything in my body was tingling in a happy way. When Eric bent over me and his lips found mine, I could taste what he had tasted. It was strange to me to taste that part of myself and I wondered what he found so sexy about it. I would have to ask him later. I could feel what my romance novels would call his _manhood_ pressed against my thigh and I shuddered all over again.

He unbuttoned his jeans and I worked them away from his hips. My hands grazing that butt I only recalled feeling through denim a few minutes before. I looked down my body at him and I'm sure my eyes widened to the size of saucers. The only pictures of male anatomy I'd ever seen were in textbooks back in high school and Eric definitely didn't look like any of those. For starters, he was quite excited, but more importantly he was quite large. I remembered my girlfriends in high school swapping stories of their first time and the pain they felt when it happened. I knew I wasn't physically a virgin, but Eric...well...I was afraid that I was going to feel pain anyway.

As if he sense my feelings, he took my hand, and put it on the part I was so worried would try to split me in half. My fingers curled and with his hand on mine, I began to move my hand up and down. Much like with the kisses, the strokes were gentle at first, before upgrading to a more frenzied pace. I felt his breath against my neck. I hadn't realized he _could_ breathe if he wanted me to, but in that moment, I was thankful he did. He repositioned himself so that he was rubbing the tip of himself against me in the same place his tongue had been only minutes before and he growled against my throat.

His mouth moved closer to my ear. "This will not hurt, lover." He whispered to me and raised my hips a little. I bit my bottom lip, prepared to feel a searing pain as he began to push inside of me, but all I felt was fullness. It was a snug fit, but it wasn't painful at all. I breathed a sigh of relief and let my legs curl around his waist.

His thrusts were slow and steady at first and his hands were on my breasts as he did it. My back arched again in an involuntary response to what I was feeling and when he felt my body starting to tighten and try to match his thrusts, he picked up the pace a bit. My fingernails dug into his forearms since they were the only part of him I could reach. He picked me up off his desk and sat down in one of the chairs behind him so that I was on top of him. The change in position changed the sensations I was feeling. He put his hands on my hips and rocked me back and forth against him as I moved up and down, slowly at first. My hands moved up his arms to his strong shoulders and my nails found a new place to leave little niches. His mouth found mine and our tongues tangled easily now. I pulled back to look at his fangs for a second before leaning in to lick them.

He growled at me and rocked my hips a little harder. I cried out again, my brain starting to feel like pudding, just like the rest of my body. I wouldn't say the thrusts pounding into me were violent, but they almost were. "Ohmygod." I clawed at him, which only made him move faster. Again I was seeing those flashes of color behind my eyes and a tingling that started deep in my pelvis and began to radiate through the rest of me. I shook around him, everything tightening up again and then I couldn't breathe. I collapsed against him and pressed my lips to his. I couldn't recall ever feeling that good in my whole life. No wonder I was in love with him.

A few seconds later, he muttered something in a language I didn't understand before shaking violently underneath me. His hands squeezed my hips hard and he sank his fangs into my neck. I yelped a little, but it was a bizarre kind of pleasure I got from the feeling of him feeding on me. He sucked hard on my neck, his tongue making lazy circles around the wound. My hands were pressed against his chest and I felt like I was oozing happiness. He kissed his way from my throat back to my mouth and we just sat there kissing each other for a while until I couldn't breathe anymore.

I rested my head against his shoulder for a minute, each of us thinking our own thoughts. When I finally looked up at him I said, "I know this isn't really my first time, but it's the only time I remember. I'm glad it was with you."

He pulled me into another kiss and I was surprised to find that he was ready for more. I didn't know if my body could take it, but I was sure going to give it a try.

* * *

**Woot for lemons! Pardon me for thinking this is the way Sookie's first time SHOULD have gone...**


	29. Heartbeats

Chapter Twenty Nine: Heartbeats

Eric collapsed on top of me, my legs still shaking at his sides. I pressed gentle kisses to the side of his face and jaw. I smoothed back his silky hair and took a few deep breaths. He was heavy on top of me, but I didn't mind that one bit. I was exhausted and I wondered how much longer I could keep this up. I'd taken an unplanned vacation from work to stay under Eric's protection until the spell was broken. Sam hadn't been thrilled that I was staying with Eric, but he had agreed it was probably my best option. As much as Sam may have wanted to assume responsibility for me, he knew he was no match for a vampire who decided they were going to take me. So I'd been staying with Eric the last few days.

I was slightly nocturnal as it was, thanks to my job, but now...now I was up all night long with Eric and I slept all day right next to him. I woke that afternoon to find his mouth already at work between my legs and I had never been woken up in such a way before. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it was just different. For the first time in a long time, the last thing I was thinking about was my first cup of coffee. Eric seemed to have an endless supply of energy and by that, I mean lust. It's not that I didn't have those same feelings for him, because I most certainly did...I just didn't have his stamina or endurance. My little mortal body could only take so much before it started giving up on me. It seemed like any little thing I did was reason enough for Eric to pounce on me. It killed me that I couldn't remember if he was always like this, or if maybe he was just taking a little advantage of having me so close for so long.

Although, to be honest, I didn't really mind. It was nice to feel so wanted. And I found that after we'd had sex, he had relaxed some around me. He was a little more open about the things that were happening and I was a little less neurotic about questioning him all the time. The trust had been restored between us and that was what seemed to matter most to both of us. I guess we were just equally as bad at communicating with each other and a part of me was almost sad that this would have to end. Eric would find a way to restore my memory and I worried that when he did, all of our old problems would come rushing back at us. Although, why I assumed we had problems, I'm not really sure. I decided not to think about it and instead, decided that Eric and I were just as happy when I was myself.

As awkward as this was, I also had to consider myself lucky. The witch could have come up with a far worse spell than she had and I got to relive some of the greatest moments in a girl's life. I got to fall in love for the first time all over again. I got to lose my virginity a second time. I got to wake up next to someone for the first time who really cared about me in a deep and complex way that I'm not sure I will ever fully understand. Any worries I might have had that our relationship was nothing more than a chemical reaction to each other's blood was completely erased from my mind. I was happy. Really, _really_ happy, which is why I didn't push Eric off of me.

"You're still shaking." Eric whispered coyly and licked my neck where he had bit it a few minutes before.

"Yeah." I agreed lazily and kissed him with my eyes open.

Eric liked being watched and he always seemed to know when my eyes were closed. Sometimes we would just lay in bed and stare at each other. Eric would always win our little staring contests because eventually, the stares would get a little too intense for me and I would have to look away or say something to break it up. But Eric was skilled at stockpiling emotions. I wasn't sure if that was an enviable trait or not, but it seemed to serve him well. Besides, I didn't mind looking at Eric, and I couldn't think of a single woman who would.

Out of nowhere I asked, "Do you think I'd make a good vampire?"

The question caught him off guard, but in a good way. "I think you would be unstoppable." He said without hesitation.

"Really?" This surprised me. I didn't think of myself as ruthless, cruel or manipulative, which were the biggest character traits that came to mind when describing the vampires I'd met. While Eric had been kind to me, I knew he possessed all three of those traits, as did Bill. Being that Eric had been the one to bring Pam up in the way of the Vampire, I assumed she possessed those traits as well. "Why?" I asked.

"When you decide you want something, you don't let anything stop you. You completely ignore the consequences of your actions and you just forge ahead as if there is no obstacle too big for you to overcome. Your impetuous nature aside, you are a smart woman. The things you value in your life, you go out of your way to protect. You are loyal and independent, but you know when to ask for help." Eric assessed me easily.

"You really think so?" I wiggled a little underneath him. The weight on me was starting to get heavy, but I wasn't about to tell him to move. As tiring as all of the sex was, I liked being that close to him.

"Would I lie to you?" Eric asked and dipped his head down to kiss my neck and shoulder.

He rolled over so I was on top of him, but I kept myself pressed against him. His hands slid down my back and stopped on my butt. I was a little cold, but didn't want to break my hold on him to reach back for the blanket that was bunched up under his long legs. We laid there for a while just kissing like a couple of teenagers (even if we were as naked as the day we were born), before my stomach started rumbling. It was a sign that it was time to get back to reality. Believe it or not, Eric actually had to remind me to eat. I was so consumed with him that I wasn't paying attention to myself, and I knew the last thing I needed was to get sick. For some reason I couldn't imagine Eric playing nurse to me if I got sick, not that he would have been able to catch my cold if I did.

Reluctantly, we got out of bed and I put on one of his t-shirts and my underwear since I felt weird about walking around his house naked. He didn't have a problem with doing that, but I was a little more modest than him. Besides, I was always worried Pam was just going to trot in unexpectedly and she didn't need to see all that. I started the coffee machine while Eric warmed a bottle of blood in the microwave. I glanced over at the calendar hanging on the wall and I remembered that the moon would be full in two days.

"What if everything changes in a bad way after Hallow lifts the curse?" I tried not to sound too apprehensive about that.

"I wouldn't worry about that, lover." His voice was confident.

"Are you sure about that? It seems to me like every time I'm really happy something comes along to ruin it. Why should this time be any different?"

Eric set down his bottle of blood and stood in front of me. He leaned against the counter so that his hands were on either side of me, boxing me into the corner. His face was a few inches above mine and I looked up at him. There was another question I wanted to ask him, but I would wait until he answered this one. He looked at me thoughtfully and formulated his answer carefully. Calculating...there was another word to describe vampires. Was I that too?

"Because what I feel for you does not change with the situation we are in. I have learned it is the one thing that remains constant, no matter how much adversity we are facing. If this curse has taught me anything, it is that you feel the same way. That is all that matters." He said with certainty.

I smiled up at him and kissed him gently. He smiled back at me and then reached for his bottle of blood. While I was pouring myself a cup of coffee a minute later I asked, "If you have the ability to glamour me, why haven't you done it? You could have gotten me to follow your commands without any argument if you had just used your influence."

Eric stood behind me now and I could feel his eyes on me. I knew he was watching the t-shirt I was wearing as it started to ride up my back a little. He stepped a little closer and I could feel him pressing against me a little as he reached up to grab the sugar I was trying to get that was on the top shelf. I froze where I was and just smiled. He retrieved the sugar and held it over my shoulder for me. I took the container from his hand. He cleared my hair away from my ear so that his lips were very close to it and I could feel cool breath on the right side of my face.

"Because I know that you are going to be cured and I would not want you to think that I would take advantage of you that way. As much as it frustrated me to watch you torture yourself the way you did, I knew you would come around." He told me. "I would not take from you what you did not want to give."

I set down the sugar and turned around so that the counter top was pressed into the small of my back. Eric looked completely serious and I believed what he was saying. Why wouldn't I? If he wanted to, he could have used every mind control trick in the book to get me to do what he wanted. When he'd realized he could do it, he'd seemed ashamed of himself for even trying. I wondered if it had happened by accident, or if he did that all the time without realizing he was doing it? I had to believe it was the former, since he had been very careful ever since.

"The night that I went to Fangtasia to see you, I stopped by Bill's house first." I confessed, and Eric's expression changed just a bit. "I went to tell him that I was glad I couldn't remember him and that I knew why I'd said no to his proposal. I wanted him to know that just because I couldn't remember everything the way I used to that it didn't mean I was going to give him another chance."

"You should have told me sooner." Eric was angry and I didn't blame him.

"I know. I wanted to, but I just...I'm sorry. I should have." I agreed with him and hesitated for just a minute before telling him the rest. "Eric, he tried to glamour me."

Now Eric was really furious. "He tried to, or he did? There is a big difference, Sookie."

"He tried to. I could feel him pushing on my brain and if you wouldn't have almost done it, I wouldn't have known what Bill was doing. I looked away from him before he could really get a lock on me. He told me he still loved me and then I felt that pressure in my head. I looked away and I slapped him as hard as I could, but-" I stopped there because I had the most intense feeling that Eric was furious enough to kill someone.

"I have a call to make." Eric said bluntly and sped out of the room.

My stomach was in knots. I didn't know who Eric was calling, exactly, but I had a pretty good idea that it was one of two people. Whether or not Eric would actually kill Bill himself, I didn't know, but I was starting to think it was a real possibility. I fixed my coffee the way I wanted it and sat down at the kitchen table. When Eric came back a few minutes later, he seemed calmer. I wanted to know who he had called, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't tell me since it fell under the guise of vampire business. I was learning (or relearning, as the case may be) that there were some things I was better off not knowing about the way vampires conducted themselves. While it was true this was a personal affront to Eric's pride, it was also a challenge to his position of authority as a sheriff. But even without his official position, Eric was still older than Bill. Therefore, as long as I was willing, Bill had no choice but to turn me over to Eric if Eric demanded me. For once, the rules of vampires were working in my favor. I had a feeling that was where my luck was going to run out. I hoped I was wrong.

* * *

Two days later, Eric woke ready for a fight. Sleep hadn't come as easily for me and so I was awake before Eric. I was in the shower when he woke, but I wasn't alone for long. Apparently, the thought of going into battle was a big turn-on for Eric. For me, it was just nerve rattling. Of course, I didn't have his strength, speed or experience with fighting, so I felt justified in being a little more nervous about the whole thing. Not only did I not want myself to get hurt, but I didn't want something to happen to him either. If Hallow was powerful enough to put a spell on Pam, then what would stop her from putting a spell on Eric? She mentally damaged me, but she had physically damaged Pam. The thought that I could lose Eric that night crossed my mind and I went from being nervous to terrified in a matter of seconds.

"You're scared." Eric pulled back from me when the terror started to flood through my body.

"How did you know that?" I looked up at him.

"We are bonded, Sookie. You might not be able to feel me-"

"Oh I feel you." I looked down, but I knew that wasn't what he meant.

"I feel what you are feeling. What scares you?" He asked me.

"What if something happens to you, Eric? I don't know if I could live with myself if you di-" He cut me off there by putting his finger over my lips.

"I am a skilled fighter, Sookie. I will emerge victorious from this. I do not like to lose." Eric said in a matter of fact way that might have made me feel better if I knew he was invincible, as well as immortal.

"All it would take is a splinter of wood right here." I put my hand over his heart.

"She would have to get close enough to me first." Eric's voice was confident. "I assure you, Sookie, that I will be just fine."

I hoped that he was right. I decided to push all of that out of my mind and just focus on the moment. If I _was_ going to lose Eric tonight, I might as well go out with a bang. So, that's exactly what I did. After the longest- and best- shower of my life, I went downstairs to eat something. I wasn't feeling all that hungry, but I needed to make sure I would have energy. I made myself some scrambled eggs and toast, while Eric warmed a few bottles of blood. I wondered how many bottles of that stuff he went through in a day. I know he'd had four or five bottles when he'd healed Pam, but I assumed that was because he was replacing what she was taking. He'd told me the older a vampire gets, the less blood they require. Since he was so old, just a sip was enough to keep him going. Now he was drinking entire bottles, one after another.

His rationale became apparent to me while I was washing dishes. I wondered if the regular me would laugh at the domesticity of the relationship I was now in with Eric. Was he always so obliging, or was he just feeling guilty for getting me into this mess? He moved my damp hair away from the side of my neck and I shivered to feel his fingers on my skin. I turned my head and smiled up at him. He smiled back before lowering his mouth to mine. I could kiss him for hours. In fact, I _had_ kissed him for hours. He reached in front of me, and turned off the water.

"Eric, I have to finish washing these." I gestured to the dishes soaking in soapy water.

"They can wait. There is something I must discuss with you." He handed me a towel and I dried my hands.

"Alright." I nodded, and turned around so I was leaning against the counter. "What's up?"

"I am going to do my best to make sure you are safe tonight, but I know I cannot guard you the whole time. I will be needed in other places." Eric explained to me.

"I know." I nodded and pushed myself up onto the counter.

Eric came to stand in front of me, forcing my knees apart so they rested on either side of him. He pulled me closer to the edge of the counter and smiled at me. "Will you do something for me, lover?"

He was being charming, but it was in a devilish kind of way. "Depends on what you have in mind." My legs closed around him, my calves resting on his gorgeous butt. He untied the bathrobe I was wearing, and his hands went straight to my breasts. I felt myself shudder a little as his lips went to my throat. "Eric I don't think we have time for this." I laughed a little, but stopped when I felt his fangs dragging along my collarbone. "Eric?"

"You do not recall our bond, lover. I think it would be wise to renew it." Eric's eyes flashed at me.

"What does that mean?" I assumed this was a blood thing and I was right. He explained it to me between kisses, being the sneaky vampire he is, and when he bit me I didn't complain. When he pulled away a few seconds later, I was smiling up at him. "So now what? I bite you?"

"Later, my love." He actually winked at me before pulling a knife from the butcher block beside me. He made a quick slash on his chest that made _me_ wince. "Drink." He said in a steady voice.

"How much?" I asked nervously. "I don't want to be a vampire, Eric."

"I know that, lover. Trust me. I will tell you when to stop." He instructed, gathering my head closer to his body.

I licked the wound and then began to suck on it gently. Eric groaned and if I weren't so familiar with his noises by then, I might have been worried I was hurting him. What I was doing wasn't hurting him in the least. In fact, he was having a great time. I wish I could say the same. His blood was much sweeter than I'd thought it would be. Not that I made it a habit to taste blood or anything, but his blood didn't taste like a human's. It was thicker and sweeter and didn't have the same metallic taste to it that mine did.

"Enough, Sookie." He whispered and I pulled my head back. He looked down at me with this dreamy expression on his face.

"Did I do okay?" I asked, since I had no idea what I should be expecting.

"You did perfect." He smiled and then kissed me to prove it.

* * *

Because it would set off fewer alarms, the werewolves had been the ones to track Hallow to where her coven met. Even if she didn't belong to a pack, it wouldn't be strange for another Were to be sniffing her out. If she had been suspicious of what was going on, she didn't let it show. Everyone had met at Fangtasia that night, since it wouldn't draw any suspicion either. All was going well until Bill walked into the bar. I froze were I stood beside Eric and I tugged on his jacket. He looked down at me and I nodded to the door. He followed my gaze and when I looked up at him again, there was a hint of rage on his face.

It had amazed me how intense the bond between us was. Almost instantly after taking in his blood, I could feel what he was feeling and it was quite powerful. He hadn't been putting me on at all when he'd spoken with confidence earlier. He genuinely liked his chances against the witch. I wish I shared his assurance, but I think one of us had to be a little more realistic about the whole thing. Something could go wrong. Eric was prepared to lose a few of his vampires, I knew that much, just as the Werepack was prepared to recruit a few members shy as well. I didn't want to lose anyone on our side and God willing, that wouldn't happen.

Bill did the smart thing and stayed away from me. Eric excused himself to take what must have been a pretty important phone call and Alcide sidled up next to me. "You ready for tonight, Sookie?" He asked in an eager tone of voice. Apparently he was itching for a fight too. Or maybe, he was just ready to change from his human form.

"Not really, but I don't have much of a choice in the matter, do I?" I looked around, impressed by how many people were packed into the bar.

"This is quite a sight." Alcide looked around with amazement.

"Oh yeah?"

"Weres and vamps don't generally make it a point to spend time together and rarely do we unite against a common cause." Alcide reminded me.

"Well, Hallow's dangerous." I shrugged.

"She is, but I was talking about you." He smiled at me.

I felt a slight blush on my cheeks. I still wasn't used to people making a fuss over me. I was used to being the girl everyone did their best to ignore and stay away from. Most people thought I was crazy. There were the few who believed in my talent, but they were rare. The people closest to me knew what I could do, and they did their best to cope with it. For the most part, they seemed to forget about it. They just let their minds wander and I did my best to lock out their thoughts. It was easier said than done, most days.

In spite of myself, I was staring at Bill, and Alcide caught onto this. "So, who's the dead man you can't stop staring at?"

"That would be Bill." I pulled my eyes away from my ex, and looked up at Alcide.

"The ex-boyfriend?"

"The one and only." I said because it was true in more ways than one.

"You ever find out why Eric thinks he's so dangerous?"

I sighed, not sure it was a good idea to discuss it in a room full of vampires, but I would break it down in the vaguest terms possible. "Lets just say that someone higher up on the food chain told him it would be in his best interest to get to know me because of my ability. He never told me about that and when I found out, it hurt pretty bad. He asked me to marry him without ever telling me himself and that was pretty much the end for us." I realize I skipped the part about me cheating with Eric, but that didn't seem relevant at the moment.

"Sounds pretty shady." Alcide was staring at Bill now and Bill had caught on to the fact that he was being watched.

I looked away to make sure that he wouldn't glamour me, although I could feel him trying to push into my brain. "I have to go find Eric." I said suddenly and bolted toward the employee door that led to Eric's office. Alcide was hot on my heels.

I knocked on the office door and walked in before Eric could tell me not to enter. He was still on the phone and he looked up at me to let me know I should stay quiet. Alcide walked in behind me and closed the door to keep the other voices from the bar out of range. Eric turned in his chair and his voice dropped to an impossibly low tone. I couldn't hear a word he was saying, but I could tell that Alcide was straining to listen. I looked to him for clues, but he just shrugged. Eric finally hung up the phone and then turned back around to face us.

"What happened?" Eric asked immediately, having been able to sense something was wrong even before I approached him.

"It's Bill." I stepped closer to his desk. "Did you invite him here tonight?"

"We need all the help we can get, unfortunately. Why? What has he done to you?"

"Nothing yet, but he's trying." I widened my eyes and Eric's fangs ran out.

The door opened behind us and Pam popped her head in. "Sookie, I could sure use your help with something."

"Me?" I was surprised that Pam would need my help with _anything_. "Um, yeah, sure, okay." I nodded. I wondered what task Pam could possibly need my help with, but I found out a minute later. Pam needed silver bullets loaded into a gun. Silver was deadly to Werewovles just like it was to vampires. "Pam, what are you going to do with silver bullets?"

"I am going to shoot out that witch's kneecaps." She said with delight. "It won't kill her, but it sure will sting like hell."

* * *

In addition to the silver bullets Pam was packing, she had another secret weapon. Turns out she'd been seeing a Wiccan by the name of Amelia Broadway. She was a tell it like it is kind of girl and I took a liking to her immediately. She was nice and very interested in flexing her magical muscles. She'd brought along a few members of her coven and they were going to be laying down magical cover for us. I didn't mind. We'd need all the help we could get to make sure that Hallow wasn't the one who was going to walk away from all of this without a scratch on her.

The Weres left the bar before us because they needed to stash their cars and clothes so they could change form. I wondered how much attention twenty-five adult wolves would garner on the streets of Shreveport. They might get away with that in Bon Temps, where things were way more rural, but Shreveport was far more alive especially at night. Alcide assured me they would be fine. They would stick to the shadows and stay out of sight as best they could.

"Can you understand what I'm saying to you when you are a wolf?" I asked him.

"You know, it's strange, but I retain my human brain in wolf form. There are some animal instincts that are harder to ignore, but I promise I will not attack you, nor will any other member of my pack. Our goal is not to kill the witch, but to hold her down so the vamps can get control of her." Alcide explained to me.

"What do you look like when you change?" I asked him.

"My fur is jet black. My eyes stay green." He told me.

"And none of the other wolves look like you?"

"Nope. You'll know me when you see me and I plan on sticking as close to you as I can." He informed me.

He'd hugged me before leaving with the rest of his pack and I felt a twinge of jealousy flooding over me. I looked to Eric, who was watching me from across the bar. I sauntered over to Eric, putting a little extra sway in my hips as I walked. I put my hands on his sides and pushed up onto the tips of my toes. He looked down at me with hard blue eyes.

"You jealous, lover?" I asked and then kissed him.

His arms closed around me and his kiss deepened as he dipped me backward. He was ready for the fight _and_ the victory celebration. "We should be going." He said when he released me. He held onto my hand and then silently signaled for the other vampires to follow him.

Eric was practically humming with excitement as we tore up the streets of Shreveport in his car. He drove in a crazy way, as if pedestrians meant nothing to him and more than one person had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the speeding Corvette. I yelled at him to slow down and be more careful, but he wasn't hearing me. He was lost in his own thoughts. He would squeeze my hand from time to time and his eyes would flash when he smiled. I couldn't recall ever seeing him like that and I found that it was more scary than anything else.

We parked a few blocks away from the building the Weres had tracked Hallow to and when I got out of Eric's car, he pressed me against the side of it with another big kiss. He was definitely excited. His hands move around to my rear end and he squeezed it a little harder than usual. I was sure if we had more time, he would have torn my clothes off right there in the street and had his way with me on the hood of his car. His mouth moved from my lips to my ear and he whispered, "I don't know what I want more- to tear that bitch's throat out, or to fuck you senseless."

A shiver ran up my spine at the thought of him doing both things and without even thinking about it, I put my hand on the bulge in the front of his jeans. He growled at me and I said, "Who says who can't have both?"

He crushed his lips against mine, nicking my bottom lip with one of his fangs. The blood only put him into a higher state of frenzy. "I love you, Sookie." He said when he separated himself from me.

Much to his surprise I said, "I love you too, Eric."

"That bitch is dead." He said with even firmer confidence than he had before. He scooped me up and off we sped to meet up with everyone else.

* * *

The building Hallow had been tracked to was an abandoned house. That meant a human would need to invite the vampires inside. Since the house was abandoned, my invitation would be good enough. The Wiccans were in place outside, ready to do their chanting, while the wolves had taken up their battle positions. From the intelligence they had been able to gather and from what Eric had been able to find out through his own people, the coven had seven members. Hallow was their leader and her half brother was her second in command. Of the other five, two of the witches weren't supes of another kind. I sincerely hoped that the humans wouldn't be hurt since they were more defenseless than the others, but they would be easily glamoured into submission.

Bill was sent around back and I found myself looking around for Alcide. The wolves had dispersed around the building and were ready to make their entrances through various windows. As soon as it was confirmed everyone was ready, Eric kicked in the front door. I walked inside the house and called out my invitation to the vampires. They rushed past me, except for Eric, who made sure I was right behind him. The Wiccans began to chant louder, although I didn't know what sort of spell they were laying down. More importantly, I was wondering why Eric hadn't just consulted them to reverse the spell I was under. I didn't know enough about magic to answer that question.

The witches were caught completely off guard by all of the vampires and wolves they found themselves surrounded by. The two humans bolted first, but they were easily corralled by vampires. After that, they sat quietly against a wall and didn't cause any more trouble. Hallow, on the other hand, wasn't going to go quite as easily. She shifted easily from her human form to a wolf. I hadn't realized it, but Alcide had come up beside me when Eric decided it was his turn to challenge the witch who was now a bright white wolf with dark eyes. Alcide nuzzled against my thigh, almost as if he were trying to comfort me. He even licked my hand.

"You stop that." I whispered at him sharply. Not that I didn't appreciate the show of affection from him, but he'd already kissed me once. Not that he wasn't good at it, but I didn't want him thinking it was something he should be getting in the habit of.

But then he was smashed into by another wolf. Whether it was an accident or not I couldn't tell you, but it definitely angered him. He forgot about me for the moment and threw himself into the battle that was raging on. I stood there alone, taking it all in, when I felt strong hands on my shoulders. I knew it wasn't Eric because he was in the process of choking the white wolf. He held it up off the ground in magnificent display of power.

"Pam!" I shouted and she looked away from the battle she was engaged in to see the target of her vengeance being held up in a defenseless way. She pulled the gun I had loaded from the back waistband of her pants and shot the wolf in its hind leg.

The wolf began to howl as I was spun around by the hands on my shoulder. I turned to see Bill standing in front of me. "You stay away from me." I pulled away from him, thankful I had the boost of strength from Eric's blood, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get away.

There was that pressure on my brain again and I screamed for Eric. I closed my eyes and turned my face away from Bill's. When I didn't feel his influence on me anymore, I opened my eyes. I heard screaming coming from the ground next to me and I was surprised to see three wolves on top of Bill. There was a flash of razor sharp white teeth and then Alcide bit hard into Bill's side. I was grabbed by another pair of hands that pulled me away from Bill and the wolves.

I felt dazed and for a second thought I might faint. "Are you alright, lover?" Eric stroked my hair.

He was bleeding from his chest. He'd been clawed by the wolf while he was holding her up, but she hadn't been able to get her teeth in him. I watched as the wounds closed in front of me. I leaned against him and tried to look around his large body to see what was happening to Bill. Not that I wanted to see him torn limb from limb, but if he was dead, I wanted to know about it. Eric tilted my face up and repeated his question.

"Just a little dazed. Bill tried to get at me again." I told him and he looked over his shoulder.

"Looks to me like Alcide and his crew may have taken care of him." Eric tried not to sound too excited about it.

"What about the witch?" I asked.

"See for yourself." He nodded in her direction.

She had shifted back to her human form. There was a gunshot wound in her kneecap. Pam was going to get Hallow's kneecaps after all. I couldn't help but smile. She also had a bite mark on her neck. I wondered if biting her was like taking a scalp, or something. She wasn't dead, but I was pretty sure she was wishing she was. Between the gunshot and the bite to her neck, she was losing a lot of blood and was in a lot of pain. Eric was very satisfied with the way things had worked out. The only vampire that seemed to have been lost was Chow, the other partial owner of the bar. He hadn't seemed to crazy about me and I felt comfortable saying the feeling was mutual. His loss would be an easy one for me to get over.

When all was said and done, we had emerged victorious, just as Eric had predicted. But for him, I had a feeling like the fun was just beginning.

* * *

**Yay for Pam getting Hallow's kneecaps! And yay for Sookie realizing that Eric's someone she can trust instead of someone she has to constantly fight. We're almost to the end, baby birds. Thanks for reading!**


	30. Fix You

Chapter Thirty: Fix You

True to his word, Eric let Pam have her time alone with the witch down in the basement of Fangtasia. She'd been bound and gagged so she couldn't speak and put another spell on anyone. Bill wasn't dead, but he was damn close to it after the wolves got through with him. Alcide had enough sense to stop before he did something that couldn't be taken back and even with all Bill had done to cause me trouble and pain, I didn't wish death on him. Though I didn't feel much sympathy for the pain he was in. Bill was loaded into a truck and taken back to Bon Temps to rest. Eric would deal with him later, assuming the queen didn't intervene on Bill's behalf. I hoped she wouldn't get the chance. Of course, Sophie-Anne's actions were a little unpredictable, from what Eric told me, so there was no way for sure to know how things would work out.

I wondered why the queen favored Bill, but I supposed it was because of his persistence. He'd been ordered to carry out her wishes and his loyalty to her wouldn't allow him to give up until he'd completed his task. For someone who claimed to love me, he sure was bent on making sure he delivered me to his queen. I wasn't sure how to feel about that and again I wondered if I would remember any of this after the spell was reversed. Assuming Bill and I were on friendly terms when I was myself, I didn't want to go back to that. He had tried to take advantage of me in a way he couldn't when I was normal and I would never forgive him for that. More importantly, I wanted to remember the time I had spent with Eric.

After parting ways with the Weres, we headed back to his car. I'd wanted to say something to Alcide for what he'd done for me, but I didn't know what those words were. I felt like I owed him a thank you, but I didn't want to encourage the retaliation I'd witnessed. I wasn't a violent person who got off on revenge- at least I hadn't thought I was until that night. I chocked it up to Bill being a special case and I convinced myself he got what he had coming to him. We drove back to Eric's house in silence, which surprised me, since I'd thought for sure we'd go back to Fangtasia. But then, I didn't really want to listen to Pam torture Hallow. Vampires might get off on that sort of thing, but it wasn't for me.

We were barely back inside his house when Eric was rubbing up against me. I'd felt his desire and intent the whole way back to his house. He'd inadvertently issued a warning to me before we even entered Hallow's...hideout, I guess- so I should have been more prepared for the chaos that was Eric. It seemed his hands were everywhere all at once. He couldn't get my clothes off fast enough and to be honest, I couldn't have stopped him even if I wanted to. To my recollection, I had never thanked someone in such a fashion, but if Eric had his way about things, I would be thanking him all night long.

He put me down on the kitchen table and eyed me the way a starving man would eye a Thanksgiving dinner. I could have been wrapped in silver, he probably still would have attacked me. That sort of desire and lust was consuming and it scared me a little. Eric had been pretty gentle with me up until that point, but I was afraid all of that was gone now. He pulled off his own clothes with as much haste has he had discarded mine and there was no doubt he was ready to go. I wasn't sure if I was so ready, but I was about to find out. His kisses were eager and for him, I had the feeling it was more of a formality. His mouth was as hungry as the rest of him.

His hand found its way between my legs and began stroking and probing all the right places to get me to respond to him. Eric always seemed powerful, but at that moment, he was unstoppable. I held the back of his head while he kissed me and my other hand was between us, matching him stroke for stroke. He picked up the pace, and so did I. When I moaned into his mouth, he removed his hand from between my legs. He pushed my knees a little farther apart and pulled me closer to the edge of the table. My breath caught in my throat, anticipating his next move. I laid back on the table and I was surprised when he brought my legs up so that my feet were up near his shoulders.

With my legs almost closed, he felt bigger than usual when he slid inside of me and that's saying a lot. For once, it was almost painful, but whatever discomfort I was feeling quickly subsided. His thrusts caused the table to skitter a little on the hardwood floor and I could hear it scuffing its way closer to the wall. It bounced against the high-backed chair at the other end. Eric's big hands continued to hold me by my knees. I was surprised that when I looked at him, _his_ eyes were closed. He almost never closed his eyes, but I got the feeling he was doing the same thing I was and hoping that my memory wouldn't be erased when the spell was reversed.

He thrust into me harder than I could remember him ever doing in the past and I felt a scream building in my throat as colors flashed behind my eyes. I probably would have screamed if I could have caught my breath, but that didn't happen. Instead, I was gasping for air and trying to find my voice. A funny thought entered my mind and I wondered what the world record was for orgasms achieved in one day. Whatever it was, I was sure I could break it if I stayed with Eric.

He pulled me up off the table and continued to thrust into me with my legs now wrapped around him. He held me up easily and I moved against him slowly, trying to calm him just a little. But it seemed the slower I moved, the more impatient he became. So, to get his attention, I did the only thing I could think of and I bit him hard on his shoulder. He slammed me up against the wall as I drew on the small wound I had created. He was pounding against me and I thought he was going to break me in half. I was in the middle of an aftershock and still sucking on his shoulder when he exploded inside of me. For a minute, I thought he was going to black out. The lust that had been clogging our bond began to fade just a bit and when the wound on Eric's shoulder closed, I looked up at him.

There were no words to describe what we had just experienced. The only sound either of us could hear was the thudding of my heart.

* * *

I woke the next day before sundown and Eric was still resting beside me. I was in pain. Just sitting up made me wince a little. Even with Eric's blood coursing through me, there was only so much my body could take and Eric had pushed me to my limits. It had felt good in the moment, but I was paying for it now. I eased myself out of bed and went to the bathroom that adjoined his bedroom. I ran water for a shower, planning to be clean and dressed before Eric woke. I said a small prayer while I was washing my hair that Eric wouldn't rise early, because if he did, I'd be in big trouble.

Thankfully, someone heard my prayer and kept Eric at rest until I was already on my second cup of coffee. He found me in the kitchen, trying to get the scuff marks off the floor from where the table had been moving the night before. I was moving slowly and Eric was concerned for me. He pulled me up into his lap and I was thankful he had put on a pair of pajama bottoms. A naked Eric is a difficult thing to resist, believe me.

"Are you feeling alright, Sookie?" He still sounded a bit dreamy. Maybe he was thinking of the night before. I knew I was.

"I'm sore." I admitted.

"I hurt you." Eric knew it. I knew it. There was no point in lying about it. "You should have told me." He was nuzzling my neck, but I didn't feel fangs.

"It was okay last night, but now..." I trailed off and turned to look at him. I wouldn't say he was ashamed of himself. Maybe disappointed is a better choice of words. "Hey, I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I know I could have said something. I chose not to. I'm not blaming you." I promised him.

I sat with him a few minutes before warming up a bottle of blood for him. The phone rang and I got up to get it for him. Even though he'd given me permission, I didn't feel comfortable answering the phone in his house just yet. He took the call and he smiled like the Cheshire Cat. He was speaking in Swedish, which he didn't do very often, so I knew it was something business related. That meant Pam was on the phone. I wondered if Hallow had made it through the night.

Eric hung up the phone and pulled me back into his lap. "Pam says that Hallow is ready to talk."

"I don't even want to know what Pam had to do to get her to agree to it." I shook my head, my stomach turning at all the possibilities.

"It didn't take much with that silver in her leg." Eric laughed and kissed the side of my head.

"Great." I sighed and Eric picked up my on discontent.

"She would have killed us all." He reminded me.

"I know." I sighed again, but I didn't feel much better.

"When it is self-defense, it isn't murder." Eric told me.

"But she's not dead yet and I assume you still plan to feed on her?"

"Unless you tell me not to." Eric's eyes were intense on me and I knew I had a decision to make.

There was a part of me that liked the idea of Eric being able to put her in a place where she could never hurt another person. If she was this dangerous as a witch, imagine the damage she could do as a wolf. On the other hand, I didn't feel like I had a right to go playing God. Hallow had been given a life for a purpose, just like the rest of us. I couldn't talk myself into believing her purpose had been being a snack for a Viking Vampire. But all I could think of was how many lives I might potentially be saving by giving my consent to Eric. Frankly, I had a feeling she was going to be drained one way or another, whether it was Eric who got to do it, or another vampire. Hallow wouldn't make it through the night. She was done.

"It is your decision, Eric. You do what you think is right." I told him, deciding I didn't want Hallow's blood on my hands any more than it already was. "I trust you to do the right thing."

Eric had given me the option of going with him to Fangtasia, but since I wasn't so worried about my safety anymore, what with Bill being out of commission for a while and Hallow being held captive and at Pam's mercy, I figured I would be just fine on my own. Of course, what I wasn't expecting was a visit from Alcide shortly after Eric left. I was still wearing just a bathrobe, which made me feel a little uncomfortable when I realized it was him. I was sure Eric hadn't been expecting him to drop by, or he would have told me.

I didn't bother to restrain the surprise on my face when I saw Alcide standing at the door. "Alcide, what are you doing here?" I tried to sound pleased to see him and I suppose to some extent, I was. I don't know what his moral code was, exactly, for harming other people, but I was feeling an odd combination of guilt and gratuity for what he had done for me.

"I wanted to come by and tell you that I'm sorry if I crossed a line last night by attacking that vampire you used to be friendly with." Alcide put it as nicely as he could, but I noticed he sort of distanced himself from his apology and I wondered how genuine he was about it.

"I'm not sure how to feel about it, to tell you the truth." I sighed and stepped back so he could come inside.

He was staring at the opening of my robe and I realized it had come a little loose. I crossed my arms over my chest after I closed the door. We just sort of stood there for a minute and there was some tension in the air. I was thankful I couldn't read minds, because I was pretty sure I wouldn't like what I heard. When he cleared his throat, it was like a signal to me that he was clearing his head as well and he snapped out of the trance he'd seemed to put himself in. I shook myself from my thoughts as well so he wouldn't get the idea that I had been thinking of shirking my robe and jumping him right there in Eric's foyer.

"You weren't hurt, were you?" I asked him, just to be sure. I couldn't recall Bill being able to retaliate, but I hadn't watched the entire attack.

"My neck is a little sore. That vamp put up a pretty good fight, but Amanda and the Colonel are pretty strong wolves." Alcide explained to me.

"The _Colonel_ attacked Bill?" This really threw me.

"The Colonel has taken quite a liking to you, Sookie, as have I. I told him your situation with Bill and what he'd been trying to do to you. The Colonel doesn't much care for vamps in general, but he likes 'em even less when they pick on defenseless humans. Add that to the fact that he likes you and you're in debt to our pack-" He'd added that last part before he could stop himself and he immediately seemed to regret it.

"Oh I see...so the attack on Bill was more like insurance that I'd fulfill my obligation to your pack, is that it?" I arched an eyebrow.

"No, Sookie, that's not it." Alcide said immediately. "All that other stuff I said was true, if you're thinking it's not."

I nodded, not sure of what to believe. I knew I had a werewolf standing in front of me who wouldn't mind proving himself in bed if I gave him the chance. I knew this wouldn't be the last time our paths would cross, since I owed his pack a favor. I knew he had done something for me that no one else had really been able to do where Bill was concerned. I liked Alcide. He seemed like one of the good guys and I wanted to believe that his intentions were not only honorable, but pure. Yet, his simple presence seemed to have an aura of warning clinging to it, and I worried that maybe it would be better for both of us if I turned him away before I did something stupid to mess everything up. I seemed to have an awful talent for ruining the better (by that, I mean calmer) moments in my life.

"Alcide, you don't need to apologize." I told him and the moved closer to the stairs. "Would you excuse me for a minute?"

"Of course." He nodded and I started up the stairs.

"You can go sit in the living room if you want. I'll be right down." I pointed toward the living room as if he had no idea where it was.

He nodded, but continued to watch me as I bounced up the stairs. I didn't have a whole lot to choose from clothing wise, but I figured sweatpants and a sweatshirt were my best option. Nothing to too sexy or revealing. Nothing that would give him the idea that I had gotten dressed just so I could have the pleasure of watching him _undress_ me. I pulled my brush through my hair and then pulled it all back into a sloppy ponytail closer to the nape of my neck. I brushed my teeth real quick and then grabbed my cell phone off the night stand. In the last week or so, I had only received calls from Sam, but that was because Eric had been with me all the time. We'd been together twenty-four hours a day. This was the first time we'd been separated by more than a room in a while. Was it strange that he hadn't been gone for more than twenty minutes and I missed him already?

I went back downstairs to find Alcide sitting on Eric's couch and I wondered what Eric's reaction would be if he came home to find Alcide in his house. While I wanted someone to keep me company, I wasn't so sure Alcide was the right choice. Maybe it would be better to cut the conversation short and then call one of my friends back home. Although, I wasn't sure who I would call. Sam would be busy at the bar. My brother and I weren't really the sort of siblings who called one another to catch up on gossip. Tara had enough problems of her own to deal with. Arlene was busy with her kids, assuming _she_ wasn't at work with Sam. My list of friends wasn't very long, and for the first time, I realized how pitiful that was.

I sat at the opposite end of the couch to make sure Alcide got the point that we weren't going to be buddying up to each other and we certainly weren't going to start making out on my boyfriend's couch. We sat silently for a while and I wondered why Alcide was sticking around if he didn't have anything else to say to me. I was just about to offer him a cup of coffee to cut the silence when he opened his mouth to speak.

"There's something else I need to apologize to you for." Alcide said and he sounded angry and regretful at the same time. I just let him talk, rather than interrupting. "I know you don't remember it now, but you were attacked a while ago when you were in Mississippi. From my understanding, you thought Bill had been kidnapped, so you went looking for him. You found him at his Maker's home and when you went to rescue him, you were attacked by a woman and another vampire who was nesting with Lorena."

This was all news to me and I wished he hadn't brought it up. I was going to be "cured" soon. Why couldn't this wait until I had all of my memories back so I could comprehend it all? I didn't need any more bad news. I was immediately angry at myself for having the lack of sense to go after someone who had treated me so badly and I was suddenly wishing that Alcide had killed Bill once and for all. Maybe the world would be a better place without him in it after all. Or was I just being selfish?

"So why are _you_ apologizing for it?" I asked him, since there were pieces of the puzzle that were still missing.

"Because the woman who attacked you is the woman I used to date." Alcide said with a bit of a snarl. "When I got home last night she was at my apartment waiting for me. She wanted to try and work things out and she caught your scent on me. She's a Werelynx, so she remembered your smell. She demanded to know how I knew you and where she could find you because you had unfinished business with her."

I gulped and immediately reached into my pocket for my phone. I was scrolling for Eric's number when Alcide slid further down the couch and put his hand on mine. He looked as remorseful as a person can look. He took my phone out of my hands and set it down on the coffee table to let me know he had more to say.

"I didn't tell her where you are, Sookie, but she knows you're alive. She thought she'd left you for dead in that basement. I swear I didn't know anything about it. We weren't seeing each other at the time. If I would have known..." He trailed off.

"Alcide, you didn't do anything wrong." I assured him. "What does she want with me now? Does she want to finish what she started?"

"I think she does." He nodded.

"Well isn't that just great?" I sighed and then reached for my phone again. I had to call Eric.

"Wait." Alcide took the phone again. "Let me try to reason with her first. If you tell Eric, he's just going to send someone to finish her-"

"And that's a bad thing?" My jaw hung open. I was a little surprised at how quickly I was jumping to the conclusion that it would be better if she were dead too, but mostly, I was surprised that Alcide thought his former girlfriend was someone he could reason with. "Alcide, if what you're saying is true, then not only would she have killed me, but I'm guessing she helped torture a vampire. What kind of person could do something like that?"

"You don't know her like I do." He argued.

"Then why come here to tell me about this? Why not just handle the problem yourself if you were so sure you could do it?"

"Because I wanted you to know who to look out for in case I can't get through to her." Alcide sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet, and showed me a picture of himself with a woman. She had a long narrow face and short dark hair. I didn't remember her and I was afraid that when the spell was lifted all the things he was telling me would be gone from my memory too.

"Alcide, the spell hasn't been lifted off me yet. All these things you're telling me, I might forget when the spell is broken." I told him.

He looked grim and pulled the picture from his wallet. He grabbed my phone again and fiddled with it until he found the camera setting. He took a picture of the picture he'd put on the table. "There." He held up the phone so I could see what he'd done. Then he programmed his number into my phone. "Once the spell is broken, you can call me if you want and I'll tell you anything you want to know."

I just looked at my phone for a minute, hoping that it would ring. Hearing Eric's voice would have settled my nerves in a big way. Almost as if he were reading my mind somewhere across town, my phone began to buzz in my hand. I had a text message. When I saw that it was from Eric, my face lit up. I opened the message and read it three or four times before hitting the button to respond. He was just checking in to make sure I was okay. The fact that he wasn't calling me made me think he wasn't alone and the last thing I wanted was to hear Hallow screaming in agony in the background. I just didn't have the stomach for it, in spite of some of the thoughts I'd had since Alcide had shown up. I responded to let him know I was fine, but I missed him.

"Alcide, I think you should go." I said after I sent the text message. "I appreciate you stopping by, but I just need a little time to myself."

"Oh, right, yeah, I'm sorry." He stood up and started toward the door. I followed him. "Look, Sookie, I know you're involved with Eric, but I hope that you'll call me some time even if you don't have questions about what happened to you."

I nodded and the said, "What's your ex-girlfriend's name?"

"Debbie," He said, "Debbie Pelt."

I fell asleep on the couch while watching The Grapes of Wrath. I'd seen the movie a few times before, so it was no big loss to me that I missed the ending. When I woke, I found that my head was resting on Eric's large thigh. I felt a little dazed, the way I often did when I woke from a nap. I hadn't thought I was so tired, but given all of the...activity...of the last few days, it was understandable. I smiled up at him like I was seeing him for the first time in days, even though it had only been a few hours at most.

"Hi." I said quietly and he looked down at me. "How long have you been home?"

"Just an hour or so." He was playing with some of my hair and it was a relaxing feeling.

"How'd it go with Hallow?" I asked him.

"She will no longer be a problem to you, or anyone else." He assured me.

I sat up slowly and he let go of my hair. I turned around so I was facing him and I tried to suppress a smile. "Did you feed on her?" I asked.

"No. I let Pam have her. She earned it." Eric told me and through our bond, which seemed stronger than it ever had been before, I knew he was telling the truth.

"That is going to pay off so big for you." I smiled widely at him and climbed into his lap.

I closed my eyes and breathed him in. Smells weren't as big of a deal to me as they were to Supes, but I couldn't help myself. He smelled really good and I could tell he'd showered when he came home from doing whatever he had done with Hallow. I was flooded with memories and I realized the spell was broken. His arms closed around me and it was a nice feeling. My heart was thudding in my chest and I was overcome with the memory of all the sweet things he'd said to me in the last two weeks.

I pulled myself upright and peeled off my sweatshirt before pressing my lips to his. "I thought you were sore?" Eric rubbed my back expertly.

"I have your blood in me. Be gentle and I'll recover." I bit his bottom lip. That was all the encouragement he needed.

His hands slid around from my back to my front and squeezed accordingly. I tugged at his hair just a little bit and I was on my way to pushing all of the right buttons. My lower half wiggled in his lap and I could feel his lower half responding to my movements. He put me on my back and pulled off my sweatpants and panties before taking off his own clothes. He covered my body with his and just kept rubbing up against me.

I grabbed his face and held it away from mine. I smiled up at him and he looked at me with a hint of confusion. "I remember everything." I said with tears in my eyes and he lowered his face to mine.

He had risked his life for mine once again. He had protected me from Bill and kept me safe from Sophie-Anne, even though I'm not sure she was a direct threat while I was under the spell. He'd stayed faithful to me and had even continued to tell me he loved me, even though I had no memory of him the whole time. He had gotten me to fall in love with him all over again. I knew right then and there that I could never love, or need, anyone more than Eric Northman.

He lowered his face to my ear and one of his fangs poked at my earlobe. My hands ran down his back and I grabbed that beautiful rear end of his and pulled him inside of me. I knew it hadn't been that long since we'd had sex, but it had been a while since he'd been with the whole me. He moved slowly, which I appreciated, because I really was still sore. I just couldn't help myself and I couldn't think of any other way to tell him how happy I was to have my memory back. His hands found mine and our fingers clasped together. He raised my arms over my head, which I didn't mind one bit. My legs wrapped around him tightly, pulling him a little deeper into me. When he kissed me, I thought my heart was going to burst. It was aching in the best way possible.

"I missed you." He whispered to me and I felt tears sliding out of my eyes. He licked the tears from the sides of my face and squeezed my palms against his.

"I love you, Eric." I somehow was able to choke the words out, but I knew he heard me just fine.

* * *

**Woot! Hallow's dead and Sookie's got her memory back. Now what's going to happen with Debbie Pelt *twists imaginary mustache***


	31. Bullet With Butterfly Wings

Chapter Thirty One: Bullet With Butterfly Wings

It felt good to get back into one of my Merlotte's uniforms again. I hadn't been in one in weeks and after taking a good hard look at my bank account, I realized I had to get my butt back to work. Not that I hadn't thoroughly enjoyed my time with Eric, because I most definitely had. It had proven to me that we were capable of co-habitating, which was something I didn't think Eric could do. He was so used to living alone and having his own space that I wasn't sure he could share. But when he brought me back home two days after the Witch War- as we were calling it- he seemed sad to leave me. I know I was sad to watch him go. Actually, let me correct that- I was sad to see him leave, but it was all kinds of fun to watch him go.

My first night alone in my house was strange. I was used to hearing Eric talking on the phone upstairs, or tinkering with one of his many gadgets in the kitchen. I did the same things at his house that I did at home, though I think he was a little annoyed with how much time I could spend cleaning. I don't know how he kept his house clean when I wasn't around, but I knew my own house wasn't of the self-cleaning variety. I came home to a layer of dust that would have made Gran spin in her grave and if I hadn't been so tired I would have gotten right to work. As it was, I had to go to the grocery store for various basic items that had since gone bad. There was quite a funky smell in my kitchen. Almost two weeks had passed since the trash had been taken out and there was milk that had begun to solidify in my fridge. There was bread on my counter that probably could have been used to make cold medicine. It was pretty disgusting.

But I got all the cleaning done I could and I called Sam to tell him I was ready to come back to work. He was thrilled to know I was home and safe and that I wasn't abandoning my job. I don't know where he would have gotten an impression like that, but I was sure we'd have a nice long talk about it when I got to the bar. It was almost four and I wanted to get to work a little earlier so Sam and I would have some time to visit before I had to get to my tables. I gathered my coat and purse and made sure my cell phone was in my pocket. I locked up and headed off to work.

The parking lot was next to empty, which I was thankful for at the moment because it meant Sam would have time to chat. The second I walked in, Arlene was pulling me into the tightest hug she'd ever given me and I'd gotten some pretty big ones from her in the past. I expected to be bombarded by thoughts of excitement that I was back, or that she was thankful I hadn't run off to Vermont to marry Eric. I couldn't hear a darn thing in her head. I was stunned.

I pulled away from her a little more quickly than I intended to and I held her at arm's length. "Sookie, honey, are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? I'm just so glad to see ya." Arlene looked concerned, but tried to smile through it.

I let my mind fall open and I tried every trick I knew of to hear what was going on in her head. Arlene was a pretty good broadcaster and I didn't normally have to put that much effort into hearing her. I was hearing absolutely nothing. My jaw dropped and I sputtered for a second before she recoiled. She looked hurt and confused and she called over her shoulder for Sam. I let go of her and tried to collect my thoughts. Had something gone wrong in the reversal of the curse? Could I really and truly be free of this burden that has set me apart from everyone else for so long? I didn't want to get ahead of myself and start the celebration just yet.

Sam came rushing out of his office, but stopped short when he saw me. "_Cher_," He used his pet name for me and I felt my heart smile. "It's good to have you back."

"I missed you too, boss." I walked past Arlene without saying a word to her. For once, I couldn't tell if she was peeved at me, or flummoxed or just outright offended that I had all but ignored her greeting. It felt great.

"Come on, lets go talk." Sam nodded and put his arm around me as we walked back toward his office.

I sat down in the chair next to his desk and he closed the door behind him. He sat down across from me and rolled a little closer. He was smiling brightly and there was a slight blush to him the way there always was when Sam got excited. But I couldn't hear a single thought in his head either. I burst out laughing and Sam's expression changed. He looked a little like Arlene had when I pulled away from her and it took me a minute to settle down.

"I'll tell you everything, I swear." I said as I reigned in my giggles and stowed them away for later when it was appropriate.

"Start at the beginning." Sam insisted and so I did.

I told him all there was to tell, minus the sex part because I was pretty sure that Sam didn't want to hear about all of that. I did, however, tell him that Eric had been good to me and had gone out of his way to make sure I was safe. Sam countered that by saying that if Eric weren't in my life in the first place, I wouldn't need protecting. I didn't want to argue, so I just went on with my story. I told him about Alcide and meeting with the Shreveport Werepack. I admitted that I now owed them a favor, which Sam didn't seem to like, but he understood. Sam knew how things worked in the Supe world. He was worried about what sort of task they would assign me to pay off my debt. Of course, if they were looking for a telepath to settle something, they might end up being mighty disappointed to find out that my ability hadn't been restored with my memory. So long as they didn't ask me to kill someone, we'd figure out a way to work it out.

I told Sam about Bill and that he'd tried to glamour me a few times, and about the fight he'd gotten into with Eric in my kitchen. I told him about Alcide and some of the other Weres attacking Bill the night of the Witch War. Come to think of it, I didn't know if Bill was dead or alive. Eric had said that Bill would require extended rest time and it could very well be days or weeks before Bill was able to rise. I was hoping it'd be weeks, but I was willing to bet my luck wasn't that good. He'd be up and around soon enough, causing trouble. It hit me then that if I wasn't a telepath anymore, that meant I could still be glamoured. I tried not to let that worry show on my face, but Sam picked up on it right away.

"What's wrong, _cher_?" He put his hot hand on my knee.

"I have my memories back. I remember everything that's ever happened to me in my life." I confided and he smiled.

"Sookie, that's great. That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you." He was grinning like a fool.

"It is." I nodded, but I didn't sound as happy as I should.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm not a telepath anymore." I confessed.

"You're what?" Sam's jaw dropped. "Oh come on, Sook, maybe you're just out of practice." He shrugged it off.

"That's just it, Sam, I never had to practice before. The thoughts always just came in whether or not I wanted to hear 'em. It was keeping 'em out that was the struggle. When I walked in and Arlene hugged me, I didn't hear a word other than what was coming out of her mouth. I can usually hear her clear as a bell." I explained.

"So, read me." Sam offered.

"I can't."

"Sookie, come on, I'm not thinking anything I shouldn't. It's okay." He urged.

"No, Sam, I _can't_. Usually, I won't because you're my boss and it wouldn't be right, but I really can't. It's gone." I told him.

He slumped back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. I waited for him to say something encouraging the way Sam almost always did when I was having a tough time and it wasn't of my own doing. He took a few deep breaths, opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. He tried to start a second time, but again stopped. Finally, the third time was the charm and he said, "Well ain't that a bitch?"

The hits just kept on coming. When Sam and I finished our chat, I opened the door to get to work, and there was Bill. I wondered how long he'd been standing there and why I hadn't felt him approaching me. I knew our bond had nothing to do with my telepathy, so I assumed I hadn't felt him approaching because I wasn't expecting it. I hadn't been feeling much of Bill in the week or so before the spell had been cast and since it had been a few months since I'd had his blood, I thought maybe the bond had just fizzled out on my end. But I was acutely aware of him now and I was sure he'd heard much more than I would have wanted him to.

"You look recovered." I tried not to sound too disappointed.

"Bill you are no longer welcome in my bar. Say your peace, but then you gotta go." Sam nodded and walked past me to give us a minute alone.

Bill didn't seem surprised by what Sam had said and he didn't try to argue. "Not that you care, but the spell has been broken. I'm fine now." I glared at him, which might have been a stupid thing to do given how vulnerable I was at the moment.

"Sookie, I know that I did some things-"

I started to laugh and he stopped talking. "You know, every time I see you now the first words out of your mouth sound like an apology. Well I'm sick of hearing 'em, Bill. They don't mean much to me anymore. _You_ don't mean much to me anymore. I think we're finished here." I started to walk past him.

"For what it's worth, I _am_ sorry." Bill said quietly.

"You certainly are." I said just as quiet, but I knew with his vampire hearing, he heard me clear as a bell.

He walked out the employee door and I reached into my pocket for my cell phone. I knew Arlene was itching to get home to her kids, but I had to call Eric before I got to work. If Bill overheard my conversation with Sam, I could be in trouble all over again. And the good news was, if Bill was awake, that meant Eric was too. I dialed Eric's number and tapped my foot anxiously as I waited for him to pick up on his end.

When he answered, I wasn't at all prepared for his greeting. "I was just thinking about how much I would like to be making love to you on my kitchen table." He told me.

I felt myself blush and I let my mind wander over to that image for a second before shaking myself back to reality. "Bill was here." I said and that snapped Eric out of any lusty trance he might have been in.

"He has risen?" Eric didn't sound alarmed as much as he sounded impressed.

I had to admit, I was too. With the number the Werewolves had done on him, I was surprised he'd even survived. A mortal certainly wouldn't have lived through their attack. How he'd managed to heal so quickly was a mystery to me and Eric didn't seem to have many answers to that question either. Now came the hard part- telling him that I wasn't a telepath anymore.

"Yes, he has most certainly risen. Sam told him he couldn't stay here at the bar, but he could stay out in the woods all night long to wait for me if he wants to." I told Eric, but I was sure he'd already thought about that.

"I can be there in twenty minutes." Eric said quickly.

"No, no, you don't need to do that." I said a little too fast. "I mean, if you show up here, I'll never get anything done." That much was the God's honest truth. If Eric showed up at the bar, he'd just stare at me all night long and I'd feel the desire rolling off of him in waves. I'd spend my break out in the parking lot doing all sorts of things that aren't meant to be done in public. "Eric, there's a bigger problem than Bill."

"Do tell, lover."

"When Hallow reversed the spell, I don't think it went quite right." I said nervously.

"You said you remembered everything."

"I did. I do. My memory is fine." I don't know why I was stalling for time. Maybe there was a part of me that worried Eric was attracted me, in part, because of my ability. If I was of no use to him anymore, then why would he want me around? I know that sounds silly, but after all I'd been through with Bill, I figured that was a justifiable concern.

"You are stalling, Sookie." He said as if I didn't already know that.

"Eric, I can't read minds anymore." I said in the quietest whisper I could possibly make.

"Are you sure?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Yes, I'm sure. I've tried and I can't hear a thing." I'd thought it was a good thing, but now, hearing Eric's slight change in emotion, I was sure it wasn't.

"And you're sure Bill is gone?" Eric wasn't calm anymore.

"He's out of the bar, but I don't know if he's gone."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." Eric said and hung up the phone.

I leaned against the wall and slipped my phone back into my pocket. "Sookie, you coming out any time soon?" Sam called from the bar.

"Be right there!" I answered. I took a few deep breaths and slapped on that same smile I'd been wearing for years. One more night wasn't gonna kill me.

* * *

There were lots of questions about where I'd been for the last few weeks. I wished I had a bigger family. I could make up some lame story about caring for a sick relative. Instead, I simply said that I'd been under the weather and just needed some time off my feet. I don't know if people bought my story or not, but I didn't really care. While it was nice not to hear their thoughts, it was also a reminder that I wasn't exactly out of danger. I was in the middle of fetching a new pitcher of beer for my brother and his road crew when Eric walked in. Everything stopped the way it always did when Eric walked into a room. His presence was still not exactly welcome after the way he'd spoken the first time he'd come in.

This time he didn't have Pam and Chow in tow, although I wouldn't have to worry about seeing Chow ever again. He'd been staked during the Witch War. I wasn't missing him one bit. Although I knew his absence would be felt at the bar. I wondered how long it would take Eric to find a replacement for Chow. It hadn't taken long to replace Long Shadow. But I assume there's a whole list of vampires who would love to be involved with Eric for various reasons. He was definitely in a position where he could afford to be selective.

When he walked in, Eric scanned the bar for other Supes who might be lurking since I couldn't spot them as easily as I could have before. I could still spot a vampire no problem, but shifters of any kind would escape me. In fact, it wasn't until Eric arrived that I realized Claudine had come in as well. Eric had caught her scent and was automatically drawn to her. I stepped into his path and began to push him back toward the door. The last thing any of us needed was to watch Eric massacre Claudine in the middle of the bar. Sam seemed to sense trouble and he came to back me up when I started to push on Eric.

"What's with him?" Sam asked me, taking note of the dreamy look in Eric's eyes.

"There's a fairy in the bar." I whispered and continued to push Eric, but that was easier said than done. "Eric!" I waved in front of his face.

"Hello lover." He said without looking at me.

Sam glanced back to where Eric was looking and he caught sight of Claudine as well. "Claudine is a fairy?" He whispered to me.

"Yep." I shoved hard against Eric, but it was like trying to move a stubborn old oak. "Eric, so help me God if you don't take yourself outside..." I trailed off.

Eric began to move backward and I breathed a sigh of relief. I continued to push him until he was outside. "You gonna be okay out here alone with him?" Sam asked me.

"He'll be fine once he loses the smell of fairy." I was breathing a little hard from all the pushing on Eric I'd done.

"Make it quick, alright?" Sam said to me, but not in a snappy way. He turned his eyes on Eric and said, "I don't want you making trouble in my bar, you got me?"

Eric was lost in lust over the fairy and I assured Sam that it would be fine. Sam retreated back into the bar and I pulled Eric through the parking lot in search of his car. I didn't see it anywhere. "Eric, where's your car?" I asked and waited for a few seconds before shouting at him. "Eric?"

He snapped out of it then. "I flew." His voice was still a little dreamy. He looked me up and down and smiled at me in a lusty sort of way.

"Oh no! No! Eric, I'm working!" I knew what he was thinking and there was no way we were having a quickie in the parking lot. Still that, didn't stop Eric from coming at me and crushing his lips against mine. His hands immediately went to my chest and I was trying to push him away.

I never thought I'd be relieved to hear the sound of someone walking in the woods outside of the bar, but I was because it got Eric thinking about other things. His mouth moved from mine and his fangs ran out in a way that I knew had nothing to do with whatever dirty thoughts had been rolling around in his brain. He shoved me behind him so that his body was completely blocking mine. The only way something was going to get at me is if it was already inside the car I was pushed up against. Once again, Eric was ready for a fight. It surprised me when his hand found mine and he squeezed it in a reassuring kind of way. If you had told me six months ago that Eric would have enough room in his brain to be concerned for me with a possible fight brewing, I'd have thought you were crazy.

I didn't say anything until Eric spoke first. "You should go back inside, Sookie." He urged.

"What did you hear?" I asked him.

"I don't know, but I can't scan with you out here." He was still looking toward the woods.

I didn't know if I should be scared or not. Short of some giant demon made of silver, I knew Eric was more than capable of handling himself. Besides, whatever was out in the woods was probably looking for me anyway. Eric was sniffing the air, trying to catch a scent of what was out there. Since we were in a woodsy area, there would be all sorts of animal scents in the air. Eric squeezed my hand and pulled me around in front of him.

"Go on, Sookie. If I find anything, I'll let you know." He promised.

I let go of his hand and headed toward the bar. I could feel him watching me. Before going inside I turned and looked over my shoulder. I winked at him, blew a kiss his way and then I disappeared into the bar.

Claudine was waiting for me when I got back inside. She looked relieved for a few seconds when she realized I was perfectly fine and then she looked panicked. I swung around to look behind me, thinking something was waiting to grab me, but there was nothing there. I turned back to Claudine and her lower lip was quivering. She was fixing to cry, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the ladies room with me. At this rate, there hadn't been much of a point in coming back to work. I'd thought I was out of danger. I thought with Hallow gone, and Bill still resting I had a few more days of peace and quiet to look forward to. I couldn't have been more wrong.

"What's wrong, Claudine?" I handed her a napkin from the dispenser so she could blot at her cheeks. I knew she was only going to pop up in my life when things were about to get real bad. She'd warned me once and I'd paid no attention. This time I would.

"That vampire you used to date, he was here tonight, wasn't he?" Claudine asked, but I had a feeling she already knew.

I nodded and said, "Yeah, for a while. I think he overheard a conversation I was having with Sam." Claudine's face fell as if I had just confirmed something for her that she hoped she had wrong. "Claudine, what's wrong?" I asked a little more firmly this time.

"I am so sorry, Sookie." She sniffled and reached for another napkin. Her tears were a very light shade of blue, which I found surprising. But then, vampires cried blood, so I don't know why blue tears were surprising to me. It was actually kind of nice to know I could still be surprised by things. It was rare these days.

"Why?" I asked her, deciding her blue tears weren't near as important as why she was crying them.

"When I warned you, I should have been more specific. I didn't know you would go getting yourself all tangled up like you did." She shook her head regretfully.

"It's what I do." I shrugged. "Act first, think later, I guess."

"You gotta stop that, Sookie, or it's gonna get you killed." She said sharply and I felt like I'd just had my hand slapped. "That vampire who was here called the queen after he left the bar. He told her about your condition, or lack there of."

I felt the color drain from my face and I worried that if Eric were to burst in right now to see what was wrong with me, I wouldn't get to hear the rest of what Claudine had to say. The bond between Eric and I began to hum and I could sense his urgency as he sensed my dread. He was coming and he was coming fast.

"Claudine, if there's something else, you have to tell me fast. Eric's on his way." I told her.

"The queen told him that you are to be taken out, Sookie. He's going to try to kill you." Claudine announced and then vanished in a poof just as Eric burst into the ladies room.

Thank God he did because my knees gave out and everything went black.

* * *

**Oh. Shit. The cliffhanger queen strikes again! Will she post again today, or is this it until tomorrow? Hmmmmm...**


	32. Rest of My Life

Chapter Thirty Two: Rest Of My Life

Even though I was in the ladies' restroom, I had three men standing over me. Well, technically, two of them were crouched over me, and it was just Jason that was standing, but you get the point. Eric had caught me- thanks to his lightning quick reflexes- and I was resting against his tree trunk of a leg. His large hand held my head. When I opened my eyes, all three of them looked relieved. Okay, okay, so it's not generally a good sign when someone passes out, but it's not like I'd been bonked over the head. I was just shocked. Now I was scared and furious at the same time. Or maybe that was Eric?

All three of them started talking at me at once, each of them wanting to know what had happened. My brother seemed to be the most worried about me, which I thought was sweet, considering Jason didn't have half a clue as to what else was out in the world besides vampires. He didn't know anything about the fairy blood coursing through us at all times. He didn't know about Werewolves. He didn't know about witches. He didn't even seem to be aware that Sam was a Shifter, in spite of having been there the night we killed Maryann. But my brother, bless his heart, preferred to be in the dark about the other things out there in the world. He was having a hard enough time accepting vampires. Sometimes I envied his ignorance, and sometimes it made me worry for him. I couldn't say I blamed him for having a hard time accepting vampires, given all of the trouble I seemed to be in and out of since getting involved with them. The thing he didn't understand was that I had done my fair share to get where I was.

Assuming Bill didn't kill me, I'd have to think about that later. For right now, I just wanted to get back on my feet. I tried to stand up, but all three men insisted I stay down. If it weren't for Eric holding me back, I would have gotten up. I could maybe win a battle of wills or wits against Eric, but he had me beat in strength. I wanted to tell Eric what Claudine had told me, but I didn't want to say it in front of Sam or my brother. Just Eric knowing the truth would be hard enough. Jason didn't know shit about shit, and I really didn't want to take the time to explain it all to him. Yet, the only other way out of all this was for Eric to glamour him, and I didn't want that either.

"I'm fine, boys." I insisted, and sat up slowly. "I'd like a second alone if ya'll don't mind." I looked from face to face.

"Sookie, I-" Eric started, but I cut him off.

"I'm fine. Just wait outside for me. I'll be along in a minute." I promised him, and he reluctantly helped me to my feet.

"You sure you're alright, Sook?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, fine. I just haven't eaten much today." A flimsy excuse like that would work on Jason, but it wouldn't with Sam.

He already knew too much as it was. But I could trust Sam, and since he was a shifter, I didn't have to worry about Bill coming back to glamour him. That sort of thing didn't work on other Supes. Lucky for me, Sam caught on to what I was doing, and he offered to get me some soup. Jason tagged along behind him, while Eric was reluctant to go. Sam and Jason stopped in the doorway, and glared at Eric in an expectant kind of way. I looked up at Eric, and urged him to go out in the hall.

"I just need a minute, and then I'll tell you." I promised him.

"Are you sure you're alright? Fairies can be deadly, even the ones who are sworn to protect you." Even with the scent of fairy in the air, Eric was still ready to fight.

"She didn't hurt me, Eric, I promise. Now go. I'll be out in just a minute." I assured him, and pointed him toward the door.

He walked out of the room after scanning it with eyes that could see much better than mine ever would, although I don't know what in blazes he was looking for. I walked over to the door and locked it behind him. A locked door wouldn't be much of a deterrent to a vampire who sensed his human was in trouble, but it would be enough to keep Sam and Jason out for as long as I needed. I stood against the far wall of the bathroom, and looked up at the sky. Stars sparkled overhead, and I hoped to catch a glimpse of the moon, but I wasn't facing the right way for that. I edged over to the corner, and let it hold me up for a few seconds before my feet slid under me until I was sitting on the floor with my legs stretched out. I hung my head for a few seconds, and took a few deep breaths. Then I started to sob.

When I told Eric what Claudine had told me, his first instinct was to stash me with Pam, and then go hunting for Bill. I talked him out of it, since Bill had been headed to New Orleans to meet with Sophie-Anne to discuss the best way to handle their "problem". The last time I saw Eric that angry was the night he'd fought Bill in my kitchen, and I found myself wondering why I had continued to defend Bill after all he'd done. Well, no more. He was on his own now. Not only had he made an enemy of me, but he'd pissed off a vampire that was five times his age and ten times as smart. Should Eric be able to track Bill down, I would have no choice but to let him do what he would. Bill wasn't defenseless. He'd shown that he could hold his own in a fight against Eric, but it would only be a matter of time before Eric wore him down. He was older, stronger and faster than Bill. He was more powerful, and he knew the best ways to use his energy. Bill, on the other hand, would go straight for the throat and miss terribly.

My return to work at Merlotte's was short-lived. Since it was clearly not safe for me to stay there without protection of some kind, and I couldn't very well put the bar at risk, I went back on "vacation". This was easily explained thanks to my fainting spell in the bathroom. For effect, Eric had carried me out of the restaurant, and I made myself look more pathetic than usual. I was sadly thankful I couldn't read the minds of the people staring at us as we left. We went back to my house long enough for me to pack up a few things, even though I'd left some clothes behind at Eric's. He'd insisted I do that so I wouldn't be uncomfortable with staying there in the future. Watching him try to fold himself into the driver's seat of my car was a comedy of errors. It took several tries, but eventually he got it. We were just about to leave for Shreveport when Jason came barreling up the driveway.

His truck came to a fast stop on the gravel, and he sprang from the cab with something big in his hand. It looked long enough to be a two by four, and it took me a minute to figure out it was a shotgun. I stopped where I stood, with Eric's arm around my shoulders. The lights were turned out in the house, and the doors were locked. Bill couldn't get in the house anyway, since he didn't have an invitation. Bill Compton would _never_ be invited into my house again. _Ever_.

"What's the shotgun for?" I nodded toward Jason's hand. Eric let me go, and headed toward my car. It hadn't crossed Eric's mind once that Jason had come with the intention of shooting him. I was going to enjoy watching him drive all the way to Shreveport behind the wheel of a car not at all made for Vikings almost six and a half feet tall.

"For you. I know you got a vamp with you and all, but I thought you could use this too in case something gets him first." Jason handed me the gun.

"You know a gun won't kill a vampire, right?" I took the gun from my brother, and unlocked the door to put the gun inside.

"How do _you_ know that? You could shoot 'em in the heart-" He suggested, but I shook my head.

"It doesn't work like that, Jason." The expression on my face told my brother I'd been witness to a vampire being shot, and he looked slightly terrified.

"I don't like you being so caught up in their problems, Sookie. It ain't right that they're using you to get at each other." Jason said with conviction. "The night I met Bill, I knew he was no good."

"Jason you don't know the half of it." I sighed, and saw Eric looking impatient while he leaned against my car. "Look, we have to go. It's getting later and later, and the last thing I need is for us to get caught somewhere when the sun's coming up."

Jason sighed and pulled me into a hug, which was something he rarely ever did. "When all of this is over, whatever's going on, will you just promise you'll tell me the whole story?" He asked.

I squeezed my brother as tight as I could, afraid this was the last time I'd ever see him. I wished I could read his mind right then, which is something I rarely wished for. Too bad my brother didn't realize he had a lot more in common with Eric than he ever could have realized. While it was true Jason didn't have the same kind of smarts Eric had, he wasn't really stupid. He just let his lower half do the thinking for him. While it may not seem like it to some, my brother was loyal to me, and he was the only person in the world who knew just how important Gran had been to me. She had been our rock for a long time, and I missed her pretty bad most days. Jason was the only person who could share that with me. He was all the family I had left.

"I will." I promised, trying my best to keep from crying. "I love you, Jason."

"Don't talk to me like this is goodbye, Sookie. You're gonna be okay." Jason said sternly.

"I know." I pulled back and nodded at him, but he softened a little.

"I love you too." He smiled sadly at me, and walked me down to my car. "You make sure she comes back in one piece." It was the most big brotherly thing Jason had ever said to anyone on my behalf in my whole life.

"I will. You have my word." Eric nodded.

Jason extended his hand to shake on it, but I shook my head. "Vampires don't do that." I told him.

Jason withdrew his hand, and watched as I got into my car while Eric went around to the other side. Again, it was a bit of a trial for Eric to get into the car, but he managed. I waved out the window to my brother, and prayed that wouldn't be the last time we'd ever see each other. Eric put his large hand on my leg and squeezed gently.

"You know I will do everything in my power to keep my word to your brother." He said without taking his eyes off the road.

"I know." I put my warm hand on his cool one, and then just stared out the window the rest of the way back to Shreveport.

While I was soaking in the giant tub in Eric's bathroom, I could hear him on the phone down the hall in his office. I was exhausted from all the emotional wear and tear I'd been through, and if I didn't get out of the tub, I was going to fall asleep in there. Eric was speaking in Swedish, but I didn't mind that at all. Whatever he was talking about with Pam, well, he would clue me in on it when the time was right, assuming it was any of my business. He hadn't been around the bar very much, but I knew she kept pretty close contact with him.

By the time I hauled myself out of the tub, I felt weightless. I dried off, and went in search of pajamas. I was already snuggled into Eric's bed when he came to lay down next to me. I rolled over and wrapped myself around him, something I never thought I'd feel comfortable doing. But I found that I felt safe there. He wouldn't let anything happen to me, I was sure of it. Given the opportunity, I would do the same for him. I hoped he knew that.

"Sookie, there is a way to get out of this." Eric said almost reluctantly. "There is a way we can put all of this to rest, and we won't have to run anymore."

The fact that he used the word _we_ didn't escape me. "How?" I asked in a dreamy voice. I was half asleep.

"You surrender yourself to Sophie-Anne." He said, and my eyes popped open.

"Are you out of your ever lovin' mind?" I sat upright, and looked back at him.

He got out of bed, and went down the hall. When he came back a minute later, he was holding a knife in his hands. I felt the blood drain from my face, and a panic start to spread. Of course Just when I think I can trust someone, they pull a knife on me. Well doesn't that just beat all? Maybe Sam was right to tell me to stay away from Eric. Look what trusting him had gotten me. He sure pulled the wool over my eyes.

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked him nervously, backing up in the bed as he came toward me.

"Marry you." He smiled, and then stared at the knife.

* * *

It was a plan so crazy, it might just work. Of course, it wasn't the kind of proposal I'd dreamed of as a little girl. Once I calmed down a little bit (and I realized he wasn't going to kill me himself), Eric explained to me that the knife he was holding was a ceremonial knife. It was the same knife he'd used to marry Bart and Russell at the summit the month before. By the standards of the state of Louisiana we wouldn't be married, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was that the marriage would be recognized by the vampire world, and _that_ was all that mattered.

"You're asking me to _marry_ you?" My jaw dropped once Eric stopped talking.

"It is the only way to get Bill out of your life, and Sophie-Anne to leave you alone all in one shot." Eric sounded so business minded that it sort of ruined the whole thing.

I realize it sounds a little crazy to expect a big to-do from a vampire who just recently figured out that he not only had feelings, but could talk about them. But, well, if you're going to ask a girl to marry you, you don't pull a knife on her, and you certainly try to make it sound more romantic than a shareholder's meeting. Whether it was recognized by the state or not, it was still a marriage. What if things between Eric and me didn't work out? Sure it was great right now, but what about a year from now, or five years from now? What if we decided two weeks from now we couldn't stand each other anymore? Crazy things happen in my life all the time that make me reconsider my feelings about people. I didn't want to go marrying Eric simply to save my own skin. I wanted to marry him (even if it was only in the vampire world) because I loved him. That was a human part of me that just wouldn't change, no matter how much time we spent together.

"Sookie?" He looked at me expectantly.

"Eric, I appreciate you trying to keep me safe. I really love you for it, but don't you think getting married is just a little crazy?" I suggested.

"No." He said easily, and much to my delight, he put the knife down on the night stand. He turned his large body toward mine, and grasped my hand. "If I marry you, you are safe for the rest of your life. No vampire, werewolf, witch, fairy, shifter or any other supernatural creature can ever approach you again without my permission. Violating those rules allows me to kill that _thing_ without fear of consequence for my actions." He explained to me.

"Oh now wait a minute..." My face turned a whole new shade of pale. "Eric, it's one thing to keep Bill and Sophie-Anne away from me, but what about the other Supes I know? They're going to need your permission to come near me from now on?"

"Lover, as much pleasure as it would give me if you were to quit working for the Shifter-"

"His name is Sam." I cut him off. Why did I have to keep telling him that?

He glared at me in return, but I just shrugged. Sam didn't refer to Eric as "that vampire" or "the bloodsucker". "As much as I would like for you to quit your job and be here with me, I know you will not do such a thing. You are loyal to your boss, which is part of what endears you to me, even if it is also part of what keeps you from me."

I softened a bit. Eric might get on my nerves, but he seemed to find a way to soften the verbal blows he laid on me at regular intervals. "Alright, but even so...is this really the only option we have?"

"You do not want to marry me?" I couldn't tell if that was a question or a statement.

I sighed, and felt backed into a corner. I hadn't even considered it to be a possibility, to be honest. I hadn't thought about it once. I was just getting used to the idea of being in Eric's home regularly, and waking up next to him. I hadn't given much thought to being his wife. I tried to imagine what it would look like in fifty years when I was old and falling apart one piece at a time, while my husband looked exactly the same as the day we married. I wasn't worried about what other people would think. I'd learned a long time ago not to put too much stock into other people's opinions, considering the kinds of secrets they hoard about their own lives. The point was, marrying Eric would mean losing out on a few things. But wasn't sacrificing part of being in a relationship? You have to give up a few things in order to gain something even better.

"Can I think on it?" I asked him, but he didn't seem too encouraged by that. "Eric, this is a real big deal."

"But it isn't for me, is that it?" Eric stood up, and started to pace.

"That's not what I meant."

"Would it kill you, just once, to make a decision without dragging it out for a few weeks? We don't have that kind of time, Sookie. The queen had your blood in Mississippi, remember? She can track you now. She _will_ find you herself if she has to. I do not mean to scare you into doing something you do not want to do, but you have to make up your mind, lover. Do not force me to choose for you." Eric was now on the bed almost sitting on my legs.

"Choose for me? What's that supposed to mean?" Again, I didn't know if I should be angry or scared.

He explained to me the way the ceremony (if you could even call it that) worked between a human and a vampire. Turns out I didn't even have to know what I was doing when I did it. He very easily could have tricked me into doing this without my knowledge until it was already done. All I had to do was present him the knife in front of the queen, and that was it. In her eyes, we would be married, and that would put an end to the whole thing. There would be no papers to sign, no vows to speak- just a simple exchange of the knife and I would be Mrs. Eric Northman.

"You really think this is the only way?" I asked Eric.

"I do." He nodded.

"And you're not asking me to marry you for any other reasons?" I tried not to sound disappointed and failed.

"Sookie, if I did not love you, I would not ask you to do this. I honor you by asking instead of just taking." He kissed the back of my hand. He had a point, and I knew it.

"You really want to marry me? I'm trouble. I'm a pain in the ass. I do stupid things, and-" He put his big cool hand on the side of my face.

"And still I cannot stay away from you." He cut me off. His fingers trailed down my cheek until they were under my chin, tilting my face up toward his. "Marry me, Sookie."

I felt my heart fluttering in my chest. There were about a million reasons to say no, but at the moment, I couldn't think of a single one. The bond between us had become so strong that I didn't even have to say yes. He could feel my answer and that was enough for him. That was a good thing, because I couldn't find my voice to say the word. By the time I could, my mouth was too busy on his to speak. Legal or not, I found myself very happy with the idea that those lips of his belonged to me for the rest of my life. I was so ridiculously happy that I even forgot that there was a hit out on me. I guess that's how you know when you've made the right decision.

* * *

I was laying next to Eric when he woke the next afternoon. I was just staring at his face, wondering if I would still see it the same in fifty years, and if I would love it just as much as I did in that moment. I hoped I would. Was there such a thing as a vampire divorce? I thought it would be back luck to mention it before the marriage even started, so I stowed the thought away for later. Eric was on me almost immediately, and he was happy to find that I had discarded my nightgown. He seemed committed to the idea of kissing every inch of flesh he could get his mouth on and I wasn't about to stop him from meeting his goal. Of course, he lingered in some spots more than others.

By the time he was done I felt like I was on fire. He positioned himself between my legs and I grabbed his hips to pull him into me. My breath caught in my throat the way it almost always did and I began to move underneath him as I pushed and pulled his hips away from mine. The movements were impossibly slow at first, but that didn't last long when I started nipping at Eric's ears and throat. I tugged on his hair so I could move his head where I wanted it and he seemed to like the idea of me being a little more assertive. I stored that little note away in my brain to remember for later. His thrusts became a little more powerful and he rubbed his large thumb between my legs as well. My hands traveled around, grazing his butt before moving up his back and settling on his shoulders. The more powerful his thrusts, the deeper my nails seemed to sink into his shoulders. I felt his breath (and Eric didn't normally breathe) against my neck and the familiar tickle of fangs as he scouted out a location to bite.

I felt almost like there was a magnet in my pelvis, pulling it up away from the bed but Eric stayed with me. Then without warning, he flipped us over so I was on top of him. I put my hands behind me so they were on his thighs. His hands were on my hips now, moving them just as slowly as I had moved his a few minutes before. I could feel him staring at me, even though my head was thrown back. My hair grazed his legs, but I was the one feeling the shivers run up and down my spine. His hands moved up my sides to my chest and he pulled me down to him to kiss me. A curtain of wavy blond hair fell over our faces and just when I started to feel my body tighten up in that delicious way it inevitably did when I was with Eric, he seemed to find the perfect place to bite me.

I was still calling out his name when he sank his fangs into my neck. His hands had a firm grasp on my backside and he was jerking against me. He licked lazily at my neck after taking in one big mouthful of my blood and when I looked at him, I saw that starry-eyed look he always got when he was around a fairy. Out of sheer curiosity, I kissed him hard then. I wondered if I could taste a different in my own blood the way he seemed to. I know that sounds weird, but I wanted to know. If there was a difference, my senses weren't keen enough to find it.

"Not a bad way to wake up for the last time as a single man, huh?" I said once I was laying next to him in bed.

Eric smiled up at the ceiling with that dreamy expression still on his face. He laced his fingers with mine before raising the back of my hand to his mouth. I wondered if a vampire marriage called for rings or not. I figured it probably didn't but if he was serious about this marriage thing then I wouldn't mind wearing one. I could tell he had things on his mind so I didn't bring that up just yet. We could talk about it later once the death threats were off the table and nothing more than another crazy chapter in my life.

I uncurled my fingers from his and started to get up. "Where are you going?" He asked me.

"Shower." I smiled at him and started toward the bathroom. "There's room for two, you know?" I said over my shoulder and by the time I turned to face the shower stall, Eric was already in there.

"What took you so long?" He smiled and pulled me in there with him.


	33. Buried Alive By Love

Hey baby birds! For anyone looking for a tangy summer treat, check out my promo fic for the 7 Deadly Sins Contest. It's a sinfully sweet little story that feature's **LindsayK**'s NerdStud from Study Buddies. Yes, I had her permission to borrow him, and let me tell you, he rocked my world thoroughly *fans self*

**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/6136528/1/And_We_Lean_In**

I also posted my other promo fic (I may write more) that was inspired by Radiohead's "I Am A Wicked Child" and features Father Northman *UNF* You may never be able to look a priest in the eye again but it's got a bunch of tasty lemons.

**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/6139111/1/I_Am_A_Wicked_Child**

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Chapter Thirty Three: Buried Alive By Love

We drove most of the way to New Orleans, but Eric parked his car a few miles away from Sophie-Anne's compound. The plan was a relatively simple one. We would fly the rest of the way to her house and when we got close, I would start struggling with him like I was being brought against my will. I suppose in some ways that was probably true. Sophie-Anne's mansion was _the last place_ I wanted to be, but I knew it was unavoidable. Once we were inside the house and in the queen's audience, I would produce the knife (which Eric had carefully wrapped) from my coat pocket and I would hand it back to him. Just like that, we would be married.

If everything went according to plan, it would be over and done with in a matter of seconds. I tried to stay optimistic because if there was ever a time when things had to go absolutely perfect for me, this was it. If, for some reason, things didn't work out, I was a dead woman. I got out of Eric's car and took a deep breath. He was feeling confident and I envied him for it. I was feeling a lot of things, but confidence wasn't one of them. I figure one of us had to do the worrying, and I was doing enough of that for the both of us. I wondered how Eric would take it if I died. How long would he be in mourning before he got over the loss? Would losing me be something that he would never recover from, or would it only be a few weeks before he found someone else to occupy my place in his heart? Honestly, I wouldn't be happy with either answer. I didn't want to leave him for any reason, let alone death.

"Eric hold up a second." I said when he picked me up to take flight. He didn't put me down. "If something goes wrong-"

"Nothing will go wrong." He insisted, but I worried he was just telling himself that because he couldn't even begin to consider an alternative ending to the one he wanted.

"Yeah, do you have any idea how many times I've thought that only to end up getting my ass kicked or needing to be rescued by a vampire?" I asked him.

"You will be fine, lover. And in less than an hour, you'll be my wife." He said with certainty.

"Your wife." I mumbled and tried not to smile. That sounded so good and I was terrified I was going to lose it. I was afraid to get too happy about anything, since it seemed like it never lasted for long.

"Are you ready?" He lifted a few inches off the ground.

I took one last look around before saying, "As ready as I'm ever gonna be."

We ascended higher and higher and when we started getting close to where Eric would be dropping down, his grip tightened on me. That was my cue to start struggling with him. This would be no problem. My only worry was how turned-on Eric would get by it. Although, that probably wouldn't bother the queen too much. I kicked wildly and I hit him with angry fists and elbows as we landed. I think I may have even kneed him in the chest at one point. When he touched down he was immediately approached by a guard.

"Sheriff, her Majesty wasn't expecting you." The guard said.

"I know, but I have a gift." Eric's cool hand was on my rear end, rubbing it as if he were petting a kitten. I elbowed him in the back of the head and had to restrain myself from laughing when I felt amusement coming from him. He slapped my butt a little harder than he needed to to get his point across. "Stop fighting, Sookie." He said, but it was just for show.

I only fought harder after that and the guard seemed impressed with how well I could throw myself around. "She's a feisty one." He pointed at me and I kicked him.

His fangs ran out and he snarled at me. "Fuck you!" I yelled at him and kept on kicking.

"Is this the one we had a mark on?" The guard asked.

"Indeed she is." Eric was back to petting me.

It felt like all of my blood had rushed to my head when he'd thrown me over his shoulder and I was starting to feel a little on the queasy side. I hoped he would be able to put me down soon. The last thing I wanted was to throw up, but it would serve Sophie-Anne right. I started pounding on Eric's back again with my fists. I didn't worry about hurting him. He didn't feel pain the same way I did. I could have hit him all night long and he probably wouldn't have felt anything more than mild irritation. There wouldn't be any bruises from the tiny blows I was landing on him.

"Put me down, you Viking bloodsucker!" I yelled at him and he actually laughed. I'd never called him anything like that before and I knew he knew I didn't mean it, but it still felt strange to say out loud. I don't think I'd ever even thought it until right before it came out of my mouth.

"Lover, I would put you down if I could trust you to behave, but I'm afraid you'd just run away." Eric sighed.

"Like you couldn't catch me. Why don't you just do me a favor and drain me right here?" I demanded.

Eric set me down with the guard just a few feet away. "Because I want to see the horror on your face when you take your last breath." He said with a straight face and cruel eyes.

That, right there, was a scary glimpse of just how ruthless Eric could be when he wanted to. I knew he didn't mean what he said to me, but it still put chills in my spine. He grabbed my arm and began to tug me along. I struggled some more because I figured it would look ridiculous if I just gave up. He continued to pull me along until we were inside the house. I stopped for just a second to take a quick look around. It was a gorgeous house, there's no doubt about that. I'm sure it cost a ton of money to design and keep up, since there was no such thing as natural lighting in a vampire's house. Marble seemed to cover everything and what wasn't marble was covered in gold. Sophie-Anne definitely had rich tastes, but at least she could afford them.

"I'll see if her Majesty is accepting visitors." The guard walked through a set of double doors into another room.

"You're a good fighter, lover." Eric's hand was back on my butt and he was giving me a lusty stare.

"Don't touch me." I said for effect, but I knew he felt the truth of what I was feeling running through my body.

His hand ran up my back and around to my breasts. He was groping me in the queen's foyer and unlike me, he wasn't having to fake emotions quite so much at the moment. The lust in his eyes was very real and if it weren't for the fact that I was in a house full of vampires who would love nothing more than to bring their queen my head on a stick, I might have jumped Eric's bones right there. Instead, because I had a part to play, I slapped him across the face as hard as I could. He seemed stunned for just a second, but then lowered his mouth to my ear.

"Keep it up, and I will have no choice but to tear your panties off and-" Luckily the guard came back then because I felt my resolve to keep fighting him starting to fade.

"Her Majesty will see you now." The guard eyed us suspiciously.

Eric tugged on my arm and pulled me toward the other room. I started fighting with him again, calling him every nasty name I could think of as he dragged me across the floor. It made me happy to see I was leaving scuff marks on the floor. Good. I tried to tug my arm free as Eric pulled me along and the queen seemed amused to see that Eric was betraying me in such a fashion when he had been so clearly devoted to me the last time she saw us.

"What have we here?" The queen eyed me from her expensive chaise lounge.

"Your Majesty, I come bearing a gift." Eric thrust me forward, finally letting go of my arm. I had to admit, my arm was a little sore. I'd put up a pretty good fight, if I do say so myself. "It has been brought to my attention that you are looking to eliminate this human, now that she is useless to our kind."

"That's such a harsh way to put it." Sophie-Anne pouted, but she wasn't fooling anyone. "Tell me, Sheriff, why bring her to me when you have such devotion to her?"

"She is replaceable, though I will admit, it will be difficult to do so." He was lying through his teeth, but he was convincing.

"You bastard. I trusted you!" I shouted at him and I started to cry.

"Silly humans." The queen said in an off-the-cuff kind of way that only added fuel to my fire.

Then I saw Bill come into the room from a side door and I wanted to lunge at him. I wanted to scratch his eyes out and kick him until I had no energy left. I realize neither of those things would kill him, but I wanted him to know just how much I hated him for what he had done to me. He had used me in the worst possible way and I had nearly given my life to save his. How does he thank me? He tries to glamour me. When that doesn't work, he rats me out to his boss. I hated him and I didn't care how wrong it was to feel it.

"I should have let you die in that basement, Bill Compton! I should have let that Werelynx bite you until there was nothing left." I said through hot, angry tears.

To my surprise, my words actually seemed to cause him pain. I could feel that he was regretful. He was feeling remorse for what he had done to me. Still, he had a choice. He could have refused the queen's orders and left her area. He could have walked away from all of it, but he didn't. He remained loyal to her and that was when I knew his loyalty would always mean more to him than me. I can't believe that bastard had the balls to try and put a ring on my finger.

I turned to look at Eric with big sad brown eyes. "I loved you. I loved you and I believed you when you said I would be safe with you." I had no idea I was any good as an actress, but everyone in the room was eating it up. It was a bizarre thing to say one thing, but feel something else completely different.

"Never trust a vampire, Sookie." Eric came toward me as his fangs ran out. "Your Majesty, would you like a taste of her?" He grabbed me by my shoulders and held me so I was facing the queen. He ran his tongue down my neck and his fangs scraped at me.

I looked at her with pleading eyes, even though I knew I was going to walk out of the room completely untouched. It was a shame she didn't know that. It occurred to me then that if I could feel Bill, he could feel me. That meant he could very well be aware that this whole thing was a sham. If that was the case, Eric and I had to exchange that knife quick before Bill could stop it. Eric opened his mouth wide as if he were going to drain me dry and I cried out to stop him.

"Wait!" I said in a panic. "Your Majesty, I have something I need to give Eric."

"I will find it on your corpse, lover." Eric said in the coldest voice I'd ever heard.

"No, Eric, this is important." I whispered.

"Oh go on. Get it over with, will you?" Sophie-Anne rolled her eyes at me the way Pam would have.

Eric released me and I turned to face him. This was it. I reached into my pocket for the pouch that contained the knife. I had it firmly in my hand and I looked up at him. "Whatever happens next, Eric, I will always love you." I handed over the pouch.

He untied the strings and pulled the knife from the bag. He looked toward the queen with an extremely smug smile on his face and said, "Gotcha."

When the queen realized what had just happened in front of her, I thought she was going to explode. She came zooming toward us, but Eric held the knife to her throat. "Touch my wife and I'll have your fangs." He warned her.

She backed off immediately. "How did you get that knife?" She demanded.

"I never returned it after the wedding at the summit. You know, the wedding you asked me to perform for your friend as a favor for your help in Mississippi?" Eric reminded her and she snarled at him.

She looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes and I knew that if it weren't for the little stunt we had somehow managed to pull of, my throat would be in pieces on the lovely marble floor. "I have no choice but to recognize this union." She glared at Eric with the same hatred.

"Thank you, your Majesty, how kind of you." Eric's voice was dripping with sweetness.

"You can't be serious." Bill said from his spot toward the back of the room.

"And Compton, it would be wise for you to leave my area." Eric smiled down at me.

"Your Majesty?" Bill was almost whining. Not an attractive trait on anyone, much less a man almost a hundred and eighty years old.

"Are you banishing him from your area, Sheriff?" Sophie-Anne asked.

"Not yet, but after tonight, I do not wish to see him anywhere near my wife's home or place of employment." Eric said clearly and I almost stuck my tongue out at Bill.

"She is not your wife." Bill stepped forward.

"Maybe not according to the state of Louisiana, but at least he didn't have to glamour me to get me here." I retorted and that shut Bill up for a minute.

"Now if you'll excuse us, your Majesty, my wife and I have celebrating to do." Eric said as he rewrapped the knife and put it in his own jacket pocket.

I wrapped my arm around Eric's neck and he scooped me up easily. The queen dismissed us with a wave of her hand and we were gone before we could hear much of the argument Bill was starting with her. Eric could hear the argument just fine and he laughed loudly all the way to the front door. I would have to remember to ask him later what was so funny, other than the fact that we had somehow beaten all the odds and gotten away free and clear. I was rid of Bill and Sophie-Anne once and for all. Eric Northman was off the market and any Supe who wanted to come near me had to have his approval before hand.

We definitely had some celebrating to do.

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If we hadn't been so pressed for time to get back to Shreveport before sunrise, I'm pretty sure Eric would have nailed me on the hood of his car. He wasn't the only one who felt like "celebrating", I can tell you that much. Between the lust that was starting to consume me through our bond and the fact that I was now free of Sophie-Anne and Bill, I was one happy girl. Not to mention, I was married. Even if it was in a ceremony humans wouldn't recognize, I was married. The reality of it hadn't sunk in yet, but I'm sure it would the first time I nagged Eric to pick up his wet towels off the floor, or asked him to take out the trash. Just the thought of the two of us bickering over curtains or where the new sofa should go was enough to make me laugh as we sped toward the highway.

"What's so funny, lover?" He raised my hand and kissed the back of it.

"I'm just amazed that we managed to get out of there alive." I sighed and let my head roll to the left. "And I was wondering if you realize that you called me your wife three times in less than a minute?"

"Did it bother you?" He asked.

"Not at all. In fact, it sounded much better than I thought it would." I confessed.

He leaned over the littlest bit and kissed me softly. "I don't suppose there's any way I can talk you out of quitting your job at _Sam's_ bar to come work for me, is there?" He emphasized Sam's name since I was always giving him a hard time for calling him "the Shifter".

"Didn't you just marry me to keep me away from vampires?" I pointed out.

"That was not the only reason." He said quickly, and I knew that was true. "I like having you close."

"I like having you close too, Eric, but I gotta have something for myself." I said as kindly as I could. "You have your bar and that's great. You should have it. But I want something that's for me and I like working for Sam. He's a good man."

"He's one of the two-natured, Sookie." He said as if that should mean something more to me than it did.

"Who isn't?" I retorted. "We all have it in us to be something other than what we show to the world everyday."

We were quiet after that for a few minutes, but then Eric put my hand in his lap. I looked over at him, and he just smiled while keeping his eyes on the road. Good thing, since he was going more than a hundred miles an hour. There isn't much room for maneuvering in a Corvette, but I turned my body toward his as much as I could without taking off my seatbelt. I let my hand move slowly, back and forth over the same spot that became increasingly harder under my hand. He groaned slightly and I leaned into him. I picked up his right hand and pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. He was wearing a t-shirt under his sport coat. My left hand returned to his lap, while my right hand held his. I continued to stroke him and started sucking on his wrist. When I saw him getting that dreamy look in his eyes, I bit his wrist. The car swerved a little and he groaned loudly with release.

I could feel his eyes on me and I looked up at him innocently. "What?" I smiled.

"You're killing me." He said with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Well I figure it's the least I could do for all you've done for me lately." I said in my sweetest voice as I turned back in my seat.

Eric laughed quietly. "If that is how you repay me, I will be glad to do you favors."

We sank into another one of our quiet spells and I was relieved that it wasn't awkward. Generally speaking, I wasn't very sexually aggressive and while it was true that Eric had strategically placed my hand in his lap, I could have removed it. I realized that with him, I didn't feel uncomfortable with myself. I could be anyone I wanted, or do _anything_ I wanted and he wouldn't think I was weird. Although, I suppose you have to have a pretty open mind if you're going to live as long as he has. The world sure isn't the same place it was when his mortal body was born. I wondered what it was like to watch so much change. Most humans wouldn't live through a tenth of the things Eric had endured over the course of his life. The fact that he hadn't gone insane was surprising enough to me. I thought I adapted rather well to change (at least better than my brother seemed to), but Eric was on an entirely different level.

I started nodding off as we flew down the road toward Shreveport. I opened my eyes again when I felt Eric's heavy hand on my leg, gathering up the material of my skirt. Imagine his surprise when he realized I wasn't wearing underwear. Usually I'm not the kind of girl to go running around without them, but I figured it was a special occasion. I wanted to surprise him. I succeeded. I surprised him further when I put my hand on his. Not that he needed a guide, because he most certainly didn't, but it just seemed like a good idea.

A few minutes later we pulled into his driveway and I was purring about as loud as the engine of his car. I pressed his hand against me a little firmer. "Don't stop now." I muttered and he didn't, even though I knew he was ready to move on to the next part. I was too, but I also couldn't imagine trying to get out the car just then.

My right hand hit the window while my left hand grabbed at his shoulder. I gasped for air and my hips were lifting up off the seat. They couldn't go very far in the Corvette, but that didn't stop me from trying. My body tensed up and my heart was pounding in my ears. My butt hadn't even hit the seat again when Eric was already pulling me from the car. I was thankful he wasn't as fast in bed as he was in other areas. By human standards I wasn't his wife, but to Eric, I was the real thing. He shrugged out of his jacket while I started unfastening his pants. He practically ripped his shirt off before going after the zipper on my dress. My dress hadn't even hit the floor when he had me up against the wall. He picked me up easily as he always did. I moaned loudly as he plowed into me. I was wrapped around him with one of his arms wrapped around my back and the other one pulling my hair just a little bit. I wasn't as crazy about the hair pulling as Eric seemed to be, but he certainly wasn't hurting me.

It never ceased to amaze me how I could be just plain old Sookie one minute and crazy with want for him the next. I guessed it was the same thing for him, although I tended to think Eric was pretty much ready to jump me at any minute of the day. My hips were bouncing off the wall with his thrusts and I swear I heard the wall crack a little at one point, but I didn't stop to look at it. There would be time to check that out later. Eric started toward the stairs with me still wrapped around him and the next thing I knew, I was on my back on the steps. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but my brain wasn't really comprehending all that at the moment. The heels of my shoes scratched the back of his thighs while my fingernails were digging into his back.

Gasps became moans that started to collect in my throat to become a scream when I started seeing those little flashes of color. My body went completely limp and I was surprised that when Eric finished, there was no biting. I was a little thankful for it, since he'd taken plenty of my blood lately. I remembered just how heavy he was when he collapsed on top of me while I was still sprawled out of the hardwood steps that led to the second floor. The pressure on my back was pretty intense, but I didn't bother mentioning it. I'd survive, and I liked when Eric was that close to me. He always had the sweetest thoughts (or so assumed, based on what I felt in our bond) after sex.

He removed himself from me and reached for my hand to help me up. Good thing too, because my legs weren't quite ready to work all on their own. I leaned on him as we trudged up the stairs toward his bedroom. We only had another hour or so before the sun rose and he would have to rest. Eric didn't bother much with turning the heat on, since he didn't feel hot and cold the same way I did. Since it was now the middle of November, I was feeling all of the chills in the house. Once he was resting, I decided I would slip out of bed and turn the heat on.

"Can I ask you something?" I looked down at his face and he looked up at mine.

He was sort of laying on me with his head pressed against my left breast so he could hear my heart beating. For someone who claimed he didn't miss the sound of his own heartbeat, he sure liked listening to mine. He seemed to find it reassuring. I know I did. His large arm was draped over me as if he was afraid I was going to get up and leave him. Before he zonked out for the day, we would have to rearrange ourselves. I'd found out the hard way how difficult it was to move him once he was resting. If I thought he was heavy when he was awake, he seemed ten times heavier when he wasn't.

"You can ask me anything." He told me.

"Did you tell anyone what we were doing tonight?" I asked.

"You mean did I tell anyone that I asked you to marry me?"

"Yeah."

"Only Pam." He admitted and immediately, I felt bad for not telling anyone what I was planning to do. Eric, the guy who has more secrets than anyone I know, even _he_ told someone.

"How'd she take it?" I had to restrain a laugh at the image I had in my head of Pam's face when Eric told her he was going to take a human for his wife.

"It doesn't matter." Eric said and I found myself searching our bond for some sort of clue.

"It matters to me. I know Pam is important to you, Eric. And I know that you are important to her. She's going to be in your life for a very long time, which means she's going to be in my life too. I just want to know how to handle her." I explained.

"Pam will respect you. She has sworn fealty to me, which means she must honor you as well." He gave me a stern look, but softened it a little when he saw that I was a little upset with his answer. "If it makes you feel any better, Pam _does_ like you more than she likes most humans."

"Because of you, right?" I sighed.

"No, not because of me." Eric kissed the flesh nearest his mouth and I felt my other senses start to perk up a little. "You have charm, lover." His arm moved down my body between my legs and I let him do as he wished with me. It felt too good to stop him.

I rolled out from underneath him onto my right side and put my leg up on his hip. He slipped into me slowly, and our eyes locked. I vowed I would keep my eyes open the whole time, no matter how much I wanted to close them. There were some pretty intense feelings passing back and forth between the two of us and the weight of them was pressing against my chest, causing it to ache just a little bit. Even when he kissed me, I kept my eyes open. He was so beautiful the way he was staring back at me that it almost broke my heart.

"Thank you for saving my life." I whispered to him in between kisses.

"No, Sookie, thank _you_ for saving mine." He answered.

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When I did the editing on this early today, I didn't have much to say in my closing A/N. That has since changed. *dusts off soapbox and gets out bullhorn*

**For those readers who aren't aware, the A/N is a way for the author to communicate to the readers all at once. We post important information, tidbits of trivia, our thanks to our betas, thanks to other authors or friends who help us along the way and want to recognize for their contributions or sometimes just as a way for you to get to know us better. It's a chance for the author's personality it shine through just a little bit. Usually if I have something crucial to say, it goes in my opening A/N. This stuff down here, it's usually for fun or just to tease the readers a little bit. Most people don't take it personally and if they do, well, at least they don't get all uppity about it. I bring this up because I got a PM today that really got stuck in my craw in regards to my "excessive taunting" about cliffhangers. **

**Let me just say this...I don't do it to insult the readers or to make you angry. I do it because I am a tease by nature. It's just how I roll. If you have a problem with that, well, that's just too damn bad. Ask anyone who follows me on LJ and they will tell you I can be a million times worse than I've been here on . And not to be rude or ungrateful, but if you don't like what I have to say in my A/Ns, then there is no need for you to continue to read my work. I post because I want to and not because I have to. If you've got something to say about typos, canon!failure, characterization or just plain old gripes about my story, you're entitled to your opinion and I welcome crit. It makes me a better writer and I try to be as diplomatic about it as I can. I don't like posting A/Ns like these. We're all adults (or at least we should be if you're reading M rated material) and griping back and forth about silly things like teases in my notes is big, fat waste of energy. I only bring it up because it really bugged me and I know I'm not the only author to received equally mean feedback from readers recently. It's really frustrating for us writers to continue to put out material when we get crap like this. Getting PMs like this makes us want to pack up our shit and go where we're appreciated. So the next time you're thinking about PMing an author with some equally ridiculous note as the one I got today, ask yourself if it really matters. Because trust me, we're all a bunch of neurotic messes and getting things like this forces us to spend hours on twitter holding each other. Seriously.**

***gets off soapbox & puts away bullhorn***

On that note, thank you for reading *backs away slowly to go work on new HFT***  
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	34. Something's Always Wrong

Chapter Thirty Four: Something's Always Wrong

It was the sound of my phone ringing that woke me up the next afternoon. I reached for the phone on the night stand and answered it without opening my eyes. "Hello?" I muttered quietly.

"Sookie, it's Sam." He said.

"Hey Sam." I mumbled.

"Did I wake you?" He sounded surprised.

"Yeah. What time is it?" I asked.

"A little after three." Now he seemed a little annoyed.

"I had a long night." I yawned and opened my eyes to see Eric asleep next to me. There was a sight I didn't think I'd ever get tired of. Only, if you wanted to be technical about it, Eric wasn't sleeping. I tried not to think about that too much.

"I was just calling to make sure you were okay." Sam wasn't interested in the details of my long night, but he would be.

"I'm better than okay." I smiled widely, my eyes still glued to Eric's face. I wanted to tell Sam what had happened but I didn't want to tell him over the phone.

"You in Shreveport?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I'll probably be here until tomorrow." I told him.

"I could come to you, if you want?" Sam suggested.

"What about the bar?"

"Terry can keep an eye on it for a few hours." Sam said easily, though I wasn't sure how happy Terry would be with such an idea. He didn't mind covering for a few minutes, but a few hours? I had to think Terry would be more inclined to pass. I tried to imagine Tara being left in charge and it made me laugh quietly. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I sighed and sat up slowly in bed. "Look, Sam, I have lots to tell you, but I can't just go inviting you to Eric's home."

"So then I'll meet you at Fangtasia." He offered.

Sam must really want to see me if he was willing to go to Fangtasia. He wasn't happy about me spending time there, he'd made that much clear, and he'd also made it pretty clear that he had no interest in checking out the bar himself. But I suppose given recent circumstances, I couldn't blame him for being so antsy. Still, I didn't know what else Eric had planned for the two of us and I somehow doubted that he wanted to be at the bar. Then again, it had been quite a while since he'd spent more than a few minutes there. Maybe he had some work to catch up on.

"Let me talk to Eric when he gets up and I'll call you back." I told Sam.

"You gotta run everything by him now?" Sam's voice was bitter.

"That's not fair." I said immediately.

"Just seems to me like he's got you on a short leash, _cher_. I worry about you. You get in trouble and now you go running off to the vamps to fix it. I miss the old days when you were just you, no vampires attached." Sam told me.

"Things change, Sam. Besides, if it weren't for Eric I'd be in much more trouble right now than you realize." I got out of bed and started toward the door. I needed coffee. Badly.

"And you wouldn't be in trouble at all if it weren't for vamps." He argued.

"Oh get off it, Sam. You, of all people, should be a little more tolerant of the supes in the world." I retorted as I went down the steps. Our clothes were still in piles on the floor and I picked them up as I went along.

"Sookie I wouldn't say one bad thing about them if they could keep you out of trouble for more than a few seconds." Sam shot back.

"Since when I do I let anyone make decisions for me, Sam? Have you ever known me to back down from something just because someone else thought it was a bad idea? And what makes you think that Eric doesn't try to talk me out of the stupid things I do sometimes? I didn't get into all this mess on my own and I really wish that everyone would stop blaming Eric for my choices." I was shouting at Sam now and I was sure I didn't want to see him that night. "Sam, I gotta go. I'll call you later and let you know about Fangtasia."

"Fine." He said, and hung up.

I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling slowly. If Sam kept acting like that it'd be a lot easier to give into Eric's wishes and quit my job. I worked for Sam because he was my friend and because he was a good boss. Generally speaking, I liked being around him. He was easy to talk to. He was a good listener. He was compassionate and kind and soft-spoken. He didn't think I was weird because of the ability I had, well, used to have. He didn't mind that I wasn't like everyone else. In fact, I think it was because of that that we had gotten so close. I valued his opinion. Usually when Sam gave me advice he gave it from a neutral point of view and didn't let his own wants influence him too much. He just made sense, which was something I was often lacking in my own life. He was a grounding influence for me.

But Eric and I weren't splitting up anytime too soon and if Sam wanted to be in my life, he was going to have to get used to Eric being there too. That's just the way it went. Eric didn't abuse me. He didn't hit me. He didn't yell at me. He didn't make me feel bad about myself. I saw no reason to leave him, other than my friends and family weren't happy with my choice. Well, it wasn't their decision, and they didn't have to like it. They just had to accept it.

I put our clothes in the laundry bag under the shoot and then went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I pulled the carton of eggs out of the fridge and went about scrambling them. I was hungry. I hadn't eaten anything since before we left for New Orleans. I was hoping that Eric and I could get settled, since I was really missing having a routine in life. Ginger had told me once that working for vampires was the best diet she'd ever gone on, since she forgot to eat most of the time. I was starting to notice I was losing a few pounds myself and that made me sad. I'd never wanted to be real skinny the way some girls do. I liked being curvy and round in some places. I went to the front door to see if there was a newspaper outside and I found one all the way at the edge of the yard just outside the big iron gate.

I went upstairs to get my robe since I didn't think it was wise to go running outside in my satin nightie with a bunch of kids playing in the street. Eric's house was at the end of a cul-de-sac and kids played in the big round patch of concrete in front of his house. I wondered if Eric ever noticed there were so many kids in the neighborhood. There were mothers congregating together at the end of one driveway in particular and it didn't escape my attention when they stopped to watch me walk from the house to the gate to pick up the paper. I presume I was the first human they'd ever seen come out of the great big house in the middle of the day like that. They seemed a little scared and began to call their children away from the house. If I wouldn't have been dressed for bed, I would have gone over to introduce myself. Seemed like the neighborly thing to do and I was sure Eric hadn't done something like that.

His house was beautiful, but there was this aura to it that warned unwanted visitors to stay away. I don't suppose a single one of those women had bothered to bake him a bundt cake or a pecan pie when he'd moved into the house, not that he would have eaten it. I found myself wishing I had my ability so I'd know how to approach the women. Were they afraid of Eric, or were they just curious? Did they pity me for getting involved with a vampire, or were they jealous? I didn't have the slightest clue. I watched the kids for a minute and I envied them.

If the mothers envied me for taking up with a vampire lover, then I envied them their children. That was one thing I'd never have by being Eric's wife. I hadn't really given much though to being a mother, but I'd never been against it. I'd just figured I wouldn't ever find a man I could marry. Thinking about having a child became somewhat of a moot point after that. Sure I could go out and get myself good and pregnant if I wanted to, but I wasn't that selfish. If I had kids of my own, I wanted them to grow up in a complete family. Gran had done the best she could for Jason and me, but I knew wanted my kids to have a mama _and_ a daddy. I tried to imagine the look on Eric's face if I told him I was pregnant. Then I wondered if I could leave him alone to care for that child. I wanted to believe Eric wouldn't bite his own baby, but with Eric, just about anything was possible. I shook the morbid thoughts out of my head and went back to the house.

I looked out at the kids one more time before closing the heavy solid oak door behind me. I went back to the kitchen to drink my coffee and read the paper. I felt out of the loop on the rest of the world, but the Shreveport Daily News didn't have much to report. They talked about upcoming elections I couldn't vote in since I wasn't a resident of the city, and the successful bake sale at the high school. It made me sad to realize people were still raising money to help Katrina survivors. I knew it was a terrible disaster that had displaced many people and ravaged an entire city, but to know that it was still a cause that required so much attention just made my heart sad.

My phone rang again and this time it was Jason calling to check up on me. I had almost a carbon copy of the argument I'd had with Sam and by the time I hung up on my brother, I was feeling pretty rotten. I dumped the rest of my coffee down the kitchen sink and washed my dishes. I was just drying my hands when I heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I hung the dish towel over the bar on the oven door the way I would if I were at home and when I looked up, Eric was standing in front of me.

"I worried when I woke up and you weren't there." He said.

"Did you think I left?" I smiled at him.

"Maybe you are having second thoughts." He suggested.

"What? Why in the world would you think that?" I grabbed his hand.

"I felt your confusion." Eric confessed.

"My confusion?" I arched an eyebrow and then realized he must have woken up when I was still arguing with Jason. "Eric, I was fighting with my brother. He's being a big jerk, but I'm not having second thoughts."

"Have you told him what happened?"

"No, I haven't. I figure I should tell him face to face that I got married. It's bad enough he couldn't be there." I hung my head.

"It was important to you that he be there?" Eric asked.

"Of course it was. Jason's the only family I have. It's not just him, though. There's Tara, Sam, Arlene, Lafayette...I have friends that I would have liked to be there for a big moment in my life like that. I understand why they couldn't come along, but it still would have been nice." I moved around him to fold up the paper.

Eric stood behind me, his large hands on my shoulder. "You were outside." He said after sniffing me.

"I got the paper." I held up the newspaper in my hand. "I think your neighbors are afraid of you."

"Good. Maybe they'll stay away."

"Aw shucks and I was thinking of inviting the girls over for coffee and cake." I teased him as I turned around to face him. "Then I thought maybe I'd have the kids over so they could slide down that long banister of yours."

"You can invite the children in, but I cannot guarantee they will leave in the same condition they entered." Eric warned me, his fangs running out.

"You don't really eat children, do you?" I backed away from him.

"I have." He admitted without a hint of shame. "The last one was back in the early nineteenth century. I think I was in Italy then." He recalled with a nostalgic smile.

"Oh gross." I muttered and turned for the stairs.

"I have done many things that would probably terrify you, lover." Eric was in front of me once again and started up the stairs backwards.

"I don't want to know." I held up a hand.

"You don't?" He seemed surprised.

"What good is it going to do for you to tell me the horrible things you've done in your life, Eric? The things I know are hard enough to accept sometimes." I told him.

"Ignoring the parts of a person you do not wish to see does not make them any less real, Sookie." He pointed out to me.

"Fine, but can we not talk about the number of murders you've committed in your thousand plus years? Just for today can we pretend to be a normal newly married couple?" I asked him.

He nodded and picked me up off the steps below him before continuing up the stairs. "If that means we go back to bed and stay there, then yes."

* * *

I ended up calling Sam and leaving him a message at home to tell him I wouldn't be able to meet him at Fangtasia. I didn't want to argue with him and I definitely didn't want Eric to overhear anything Sam had to say since he now had the ability to lock Sam out of my life if he wanted to. I hoped he wouldn't do such a thing without discussing it with me first, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he did. So as Eric suggested, we spent most of the night in bed together. By the time he was through with me I was shaking like a leaf and floating on the edge of consciousness. By the time the sun rose I was completely exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

He woke just a few minutes after I did and the first thing I said was, "I want to go back to Bon Temps." I was prepared for an argument.

"Okay." He agreed without a fight. This new agreeable Eric troubled me, but I figured I might as well take advantage of it while I could. I knew it wouldn't last forever.

We showered and dressed and headed back to Bon Temps a little while after that. When we walked into Merlotte's, everything just sort of stopped. It was a relief not to be flooded with the thoughts of the people in the bar for a change, although I could still read faces. Some were wondering if my recent "illness" hadn't been caused by the beautiful vampire behind me. Some were surprised to see me there at all. And then there were the remote few who were actually happy to see me. Me being in the bar without being in uniform seemed to cause a few people to wonder who I was. For the first time since I'd worked at Sam's bar, I felt like I didn't belong there.

I led Eric to the big booth in the corner where we would mostly be out of sight from everyone else. It's funny how both of us were used to being stared at, but for very different reasons. Eric didn't mind it as much as I did, though. Not that he necessarily enjoyed the attention he got, but I knew there was a part of him that really got off on the nasty little thoughts humans had when he walked past them. I wondered what they would all think if they found out I was now his wife? Part of me wanted to know while the other part was glad to go on in my own little world.

Eric and I sat on one side of the booth leaving Sam to sit by himself on the other. I had wondered if a Supe would just stop where they stood when they got too close to me without Eric's permission the way a vampire couldn't come into my home without my invitation. That question was answered when Sam sat down across from us like it was any other day. We just sat there silently for a minute. Sam looked back and forth between us and he sensed something was different but didn't know what. Eric tried to keep from looking bored out of his skull and I struggled to find the right words to tell Sam without making him flip out.

"Sookie is my wife now." Eric said for me. He wasn't gentle about it but he wasn't as smug as I'd expected him to be either.

Sam laughed at the notion that I would marry Eric. But when he saw that I wasn't rushing to correct Eric, the laughter stopped. "He's serious?" Sam glared at me. His face flushed bright red with anger.

"Sam, it was the only way to get Sophie-Anne off my back." I told him.

"He glamoured you, didn't he?" Sam accused and shifted his stare to Eric.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sam." I was offended that Sam would suggest such a thing, but then I remembered that I knew a very different Eric than most people. I would never go so far as to call Eric harmless but I knew he would never forgive himself for betraying me or causing me pain intentionally. "It's a vampire marriage but we're married all the same."

"So it's not legally recognized?" Sam asked for clarification.

"No, but I will treat it as though it were." Eric looked to me and I couldn't help but smile at him. I grabbed his large hand under the table. It was the biggest display of affection I could muster in front of Sam.

"I need a minute, Sook." Sam shook his head and then stormed off. I expected him to go back to his office and stomp around but instead, he went out the front door of the bar. I wanted to follow him but I figured it was better to give him his space.

When my brother came striding in a few minutes later I knew Sam hadn't spilled the beans but he had run his mouth some. "What'd you do to Sam to get him all twisted up?" Jason stood at the end of the table.

"Jason, you should sit." I gestured to the other side of the booth with my free hand.

I was impressed by how quiet Eric was being. I had expected him to dominate the conversations and lay down the new ground rules, but he was letting me take the reigns on this one. I gathered up the words I had planned to say to Sam and made a few adjustments so I could tell my brother all the same stuff. Only I wouldn't need to tell him about needing Eric's permission to approach me since he wasn't a shifter or supe of any kind. I was prepared for Jason to flip out worse than Sam. If there was one thing my brother and I had in common, it was our temper. We're generally pretty mild-mannered people- at least I think so- but when our tempers flair up, watch out.

"What's going on?" My brother sensed bad news. I guess from his perspective what I had to say could be taken as bad news. "That bitch didn't get her hands on you, did she?"

"No, Jason, I'm fine." I promised him and I looked to Eric. His lips were pressed together and I wondered what he was holding back. He wanted to say something, I just couldn't tell what.

I started slowly and explained what had happened. When I finally got to the part where Eric and I were married, I watched Jason's face change. He went from intrigued and a little bitter toward the vampires who were constantly making my life hell in one way or another, to amused. There was a reaction I hadn't expected. He just shook his head and laughed. He laughed like a hyena, garnering him attention from the surrounding tables. He slapped his hand on the table and even nudged me with his foot.

"You really married a vamp?" He asked when he pulled himself together.

"Well, not in a legal ceremony, but to the Supernatural World, yes, I'm Eric's wife." I looked to Eric again, who was as confused as I was by Jason's reaction. I got the feeling Eric was a little disappointed he hadn't needed to physically put anyone in their place.

"I wish I could have been there to see that bloodsucker bitch's face when you pulled the wool over her eyes." Jason howled with laughter again and when I recalled Sophie-Anne's face, I couldn't help but laugh a little too.

Even more surprising, Eric was laughing next to me. "It was quite a face." Eric nodded, recalling the same thing as me.

"So what now?" Jason asked. "Are you safe?"

"Yes, I am." I looked at Eric and he squeezed my hand under the table. "From now on Supes can't come near me without Eric's permission first."

"Nice." Jason nodded and looked to Eric. "So now you're like my brother-in-law?"

"That is up to Sookie." Eric looked down at me.

"Well, ya'll can't go fishing together or compare lawn mowers the way most brothers-in-law would, but you'll have me as your common bond." I shrugged.

"What about kids?" Jason asked and I was really floored. He was taking this much better than I had expected. I had thought he would completely lose his cool and threaten to stake Eric right there in the bar, before getting his ass handed to him. My brother was a strong ole boy, but he wasn't Eric.

Eric and I exchanged looks because we hadn't talked about anything remotely domestic, outside of me quitting my job. "I don't think we can have kids." I said quietly, although I didn't think Eric would really want to go down that road even if he could.

Jason was quiet for a minute after that. "You moving to Shreveport?" He asked me suddenly, his eyes wide and a little scared.

"I don't know." I shrugged and he seemed slightly taken aback by how calm I was over the prospect of moving.

"What about Gran's house?" Jason asked.

"I wouldn't sell it, Jason. It'll stay in the family. Even though Gran left it to me, it's not really just mine to sell." I assured him. I could never sell Gran's house without talking it over with my brother. He was the only family I had left and I would rather _he_ move into it some day when he had a wife and kids of his own, than sell it off to strangers who couldn't appreciate it the way we did.

Sam came back into the bar and Jason made himself scarce. Eric excused himself to get a TrueBlood from the bar, leaving me alone with Sam. "So how does this work now, Sookie? You gonna quit because you got married?"

"Of course not! I told Eric I wasn't leaving my life. Besides, it's not a legal marriage, Sam. It's just to keep Sophie-Anne and Bill away from me."

"He seems to think it's something more than that, and you look awfully happy." Sam pointed out.

"Sam, if Eric wants to treat this like the real thing, I can't stop him from doing that. He'll just steamroll over me anyway like he always does."

"So you don't want to be legally married to him?"

"I didn't say that."

"So what, then, Sookie?"

"So we see what happens. We spend more time together and we decide what we want to do, and if I decide I want to marry him for real, then I will." I shrugged. There was no better plan to put together than that.

I was done making plans for a while. I just wanted to enjoy my life as it came. Things changed around so quick and I was tired of being disappointed that I didn't get to the do the things I wanted to do. So, I would just go with the flow for a while and see where that got me. I imagined it would get me late shifts at Merlotte's, later nights with Eric, and most of the daytime hours to sleep. I was looking forward to a routine again, even if it wouldn't be the same one as I had before. I could adapt and get used to my new reality. Lord knows it wouldn't the first time I had to adjust.

I talked with Sam a while longer, but inevitably, Eric started getting antsy to go. I promised Sam that things would settle down soon and that I would be back to work before he knew it. He'd hired a new waitress in the meantime, since he had no idea when I was coming back. She seemed like a nice girl.

I hugged Sam and my brother goodbye before we left the bar. "That went much better than I thought it would." I smiled at Eric once we were in the car.

"You're sure I can't talk you out of quitting that place?" Eric said with mild irritation in his voice.

"Eric, we talked about it already." I sighed, though I did appreciate that he wanted me to be around more. "Besides, you'd get sick of me if I was around all the time."

"Nonsense." He glared at me. "I have been with Pam for centuries."

"Yes, you have and I know she gets on your nerves sometimes."

"She does, but that doesn't mean I want her to go away."

He had a point. I'd seen Pam push him to the limits of his patience and not once had he sent her away somewhere, nor had he left her. Their loyalty to one another was staggering and now Pam would treat me the same way. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I figured it was better to have Pam as an ally than an enemy. When we got back to my house, Eric was hesitant to get out of the car.

"Wait here." He said, and emerged first.

"What's going on?" I could tell he was on high alert. He was sniffing the air, trying to place the scent he had picked up. In spite of his request, I got out of the car. Sometimes I just don't listen when I should. "Eric, what's wrong?" I whispered.

"Get back in the car." He ordered.

"No." I was being awfully stubborn and stupid for someone who'd had a hit on her just a few days before. "Eric, the house looks the same as it did when I left."

"To you it does." He said in a way that implied my mere mortal senses were inferior to his supernatural vampire senses. I hated when he did that. Being a telepath had put us on a more level playing field and without it, I didn't feel like myself. He continued to sniff the air. "I smell Were."

"A Were?" I tried to remember if I'd had a Were over to my house and the only one I could think of was Alcide, but that was a while ago. I doubted his scent still lingered. "Maybe Alcide dropped by to check on me."

"He wouldn't do that. He knows the penalty for approaching you without my consent." Eric said sharply. "Besides, I know his smell. This isn't Alcide." He continued to sniff and his nose led him around to the back of the house with me trailing behind. "Sookie, get back in the car!" He demanded.

"Eric, if there's something in my house, I want to know about it." I argued with him.

A few seconds later, we were at the back door. I fumbled with my keys and he took them from me. He motioned for me to be silent. He was listening for something I couldn't hear. He scooped me up and carried me around to the front of the house. He gave me my keys back so I could unlock the front door. He was ready for a fight, which made me nervous. There was definitely something in my house that I needed to be weary of and I was thankful he was with me. I unlocked the door and then moved out of the way so Eric could go in first. Whatever was in my house hadn't gone in the coat closet and found the shotgun Jason had brought me. Or, if it had, it had returned the gun exactly where I'd left it. I carried it at my side, while Eric walked ahead of me.

"Whatever you are, come out now, and I won't rip your throat out." Eric called out, looking around overhead and listening for footsteps.

I heard the whoosh before I felt the pain and I turned just in time to feel the silver blade slide through my skin like butter. The cut wasn't very deep, but it was long. I screamed in pain and raised the shotgun. She dropped the knife at the sight of the gun in my hands and the last thing she ever did was call me a whore before Eric was on top of her. He bit her viciously, tearing at her throat, chest and even her stomach. She screamed until there was no life left in her and by the time Eric was finished, he was covered in blood. He dropped her lifeless body on the floor and stared at me. I stood there shaking, not sure of what to say. I'd never felt anything like what Eric was feeling at that particular moment and it was terrifying. I pressed my hand to my side and fell back onto the stairs with a loud thump.

There, standing over me was a giant Viking Vampire who'd just had his first vicious kill in front of me. This was the real Eric and he was scary. It was a wake up call and I was pretty sure I'd never think of him the same way after that. The strangest thing was, as quick as the rage and bloodthirstiness had built up in him, it also subsided. He was covered in Were blood and kneeling down next to me to attend to my wound. I wanted to cry because of the pain, but I was too stunned. I pushed past Eric to look at the face of the woman he had just massacred.

"Debbie Pelt." I whispered and then I thought I was going to be sick.

* * *

Thank you all for being so sweet in your reviews from last chapter in regards to my little spout off there at the end. I'm happy to see that most of you understand the point of an A/N and that I don't annoy you. Mama Bird just wants you to feel welcome. That said, there's only two more chapters after this. I can either post them both tomorrow, or I can drag it out until Friday. Totes your call. I would also like to apologize for being so review!fail. I promise that I will respond to every review that comes in for the final chapter of this story.

**And now for a moment of self pimpage** *puts on pimp hat*

The 7 Deadly Sins Contest is looking for citrus flavored one shots of a deviant nature. This contest is anonymous so if you're a first time writer, don't be afraid to throw your hat in the ring. I know how intimidating it can be to go up against some of the ladies here. I was scared shitless the first time I posted. The good thing is that for every one nasty review/PM you get, you're likely to get a dozen kind ones as well. Most folks are pretty generous and this is all for fun. So don't be afraid to send us a submission. You've got until 11:59 p.m. on August 15th to send me something that'll ensure my seat in hell (I've already rented a limo bus & there are plans to play strip poker on the way *giggles*). I've posted two promo fics for the contest. If you haven't read them, you should. Writing Father Northman was the first time in my life I ever wanted to be Catholic. Yum.

*takes off pimp hat*

Thanks for reading baby birds *huggles*


	35. Wild Horses

Chapter Thirty Five: Wild Horses

I stared down at what was left of Debbie Pelt's horribly mangled body and I told myself that Eric had done what he did not only to protect me, but because it was his right now as my husband. If I were a Supe of any sort, I probably wouldn't have felt this mortal grief (and guilt) flooding through me, even if she had been a horrible woman who would have been happy to see me dead in her place. Don't get me wrong, I had always been acutely aware of how deadly Eric is. I had always known he was capable of doing what I had just witnessed. I just never thought I'd have to see it first hand. When I was finally able to take my eyes away from Debbie's lifeless body I realized that some of her blood had sprayed onto me and I started to gag all over again. My hand flew up to cover my mouth. I needed the bathroom and I needed it fast but I didn't want to track blood all through my house. Just getting it off the foyer floors, walls, steps, front door and even the ceiling fan was going to be tricky enough. My husband wasn't just vicious, he was messy as sin.

Eric lifted me and I let my shoes fall to the floor. He set me down on the area rug in the living room that was untouched by Debbie's blood and I took off for the bathroom. I was thankful he didn't follow me, or try to calm me. I couldn't have heard him just then. I understood why he'd had to do it and really, I was grateful for it. If it had to be me or her that died I was going to vote for her every time. That realization only made me wretch a little harder as I knelt by the old toilet in the hall bathroom. By the time I was done being sick I was white as a sheet and Eric's words from the doorway startled me.

"Even as a vampire, you would be beautiful." He said and that just wasn't the right thing to say at the moment.

"You promised you would never turn me." I reminded him.

"So I did." He nodded and brought me a glass of water.

"Thank you." I said.

"It was no trouble." He said nonchalantly and I didn't know if he was talking about the glass of water he'd brought me, or the murder he'd just committed on my behalf. "Sookie, she would have known that she was not welcome here and yet, she crossed the barriers anyway."

"So there is some sort of booby trap on me now that only Supes can sense?"

"That's one way to put it." Eric nodded. I could tell the explanation was lengthy and best left in my simplified human interpretation.

Something occurred to me then that I hadn't considered before. "What if someone were to take _you_ to get to me?" I asked him.

"How do you mean?" Apparently, Eric had never considered the fact that _he himself_ could be kidnapped.

"I mean, what if some Supe decided that the only way to get at me was to take you first. They would assume that, as your wife, I would go looking for you. And believe me, if someone took you, I would go looking. And you know I would look until I found you. How would that work?" I asked him.

"I would have to be caught first." Eric said in his usual arrogance and I glared at him. I really wanted to know the answer to that question. If I had thought of it, surely there was a vamp or two out there who had considered the very same possibility. "Vampire on vampire crime is very rare, Sookie. We prefer to save our contempt for other varieties of Supernaturals."

"What about Lorena? She didn't seem to mind inflicting a little pain on her own kind. Bill staked Long Shadow to save me. You and Bill fought in my kitchen. You put a knife to Sophie-Anne's throat when she approached me in New Orleans." I reminded him of all these vampire on vampire acts of violence, but he disregarded them.

"A vampire will not harm me." He said with what I considered to be a blind confidence. "And a Were is not strong enough to overpower me."

"A pack might be." I sat on the lid of the toilet in a rather childish pouting pose.

"And I have underlings who have sworn fealty to me, Sookie. Fealty that is now to you as well. We cannot plan for every possibility, lover. Our lives will get jostled out of routine from time to time because that is the way of the world. I have promised to do my part to keep you safe. That is all I can do." Eric leaned in the doorway.

"You're right." I sighed and then stood up. I wanted to hug him, but he was covered in blood. I squeezed past him to go down the hall to my own bedroom for my toothbrush.

After brushing my teeth for longer than usual, I went to the kitchen to get trash bags and cleaning supplies. In spite of the cold, I asked Eric to open the windows so we could get the smell out of the house. Were blood had a distinct odor to it and it wasn't at all pleasant. I tossed Eric the trash bags so he could start bagging up Debbie's body. The faster we could get rid of that, the quicker I could get down to mopping up the blood that was on my floor and walls. While it may have been a bit neater than Eric's method, I was glad I hadn't shot Debbie. Not because I felt absolved from her death by letting Eric do the actual killing, but because I don't think I could have stood the smell of gun powder mixed with her blood.

Eric had just left to dispose of Debbie's body when I remembered Alcide. I debated whether or not to call him. Someone should know what had happened to Debbie but at the same time, I worried that Eric wasn't as untouchable for this crime as he wanted to think. To the Supernatural World he might not be culpable but to the human world he certainly was. Alcide had done his favor for Eric by guarding me while I was under that spell, so as far as I knew the two of them were even. While I had to assume Alcide would know how stupid it would be to turn Eric in for what he'd done, there was always that possibility. Alcide had loved Debbie, after all. Why wouldn't he want to avenge her death the same way Eric would want vengeance for mine?

Opening the windows didn't help a whole lot to get the stink out of the foyer but it was providing some relief. I mopped up what blood I could before having to refill the bucket of water I was working with. There was blood everywhere and it seemed like the more I tried to clean it up, the more of if there was. Eric returned to find me on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. It amazed me- although it probably shouldn't have- that he could be so turned on by what I was doing. I was cleaning up after his _kill_. I wondered what my Gran would have to say about this? But, Eric was smart enough not to make a move on me. Instead, he grabbed another brush and got down next to me to scrub.

Eric doing domestic manual labor is something I never thought I'd see in a million years. I was actually somewhat impressed that he hadn't whipped out his cell phone to make a call to have someone come and clean this mess up for us. I was actually thankful he didn't do such a thing. I didn't want strange people trampling through my Gran's house. It was bad enough that Debbie Pelt had found a way inside. I stomped suddenly and dropped my scrub brush in the bucket of soapy water next to me. I looked around, although I wasn't sure what I was looking for.

Eric glanced up at me and then stopped what he was doing when he noticed the look on my face. "There is no one here, lover." He assured me.

"I know." I whispered, but continued to look around.

I got up slowly and started walking around the house. I wanted to know how Debbie got inside. The front door was locked. The kitchen door was locked. I didn't keep a spare key around outside anywhere. I hadn't noticed any broken windows but I hadn't been all over the house just yet. I checked my bedroom, since I had made a beeline for my bathroom when I'd gone in. The windows in there were fine. I went to what had been my old bedroom. The room had been converted to a light tight room for Eric. There were no windows in the room anymore. But, the closet door was ajar.

"Eric." I whispered and a second later he was behind me. It was pretty amazing that I could whisper from where I stood and he heard me clear as day on the other side of my house. I pointed to the closet door. "Did you leave it like that?"

He scanned the room and then shook his head at me. If he hadn't left the closet door open then that meant someone else had been in the room. I thought of calling my brother but he would have no reason to go in that room at all, much less in the closet if he had been the one to stop by. Besides, I was pretty sure he would have mentioned his visit to me while I was at the bar. Then I remembered something I had completely forgotten about.

"The computer." I whispered, even though Eric was sure there was no one else in the house besides us.

He zipped forward and went to the closet. He had built what I likened to a "guest room" in the closet. I assumed that space was meant for Pam, should her resting place ever become compromised. I tried to imagine whether or not there would be room for me _and_ two vampires in my house. Spatially, we would be just fine, but breathing room could become difficult with all of the powerful personalities. It dawned on me then that Pam would lose just about every argument she ever started and that made me smile a bit. She might be Eric's Second but I was his wife, and unlike my friends and family, Pam had no choice but to recognize our union. Interesting.

Eric popped out of the little hidey-hole as easily as he sank into it. "The computer and all of the papers are gone." He said with an expression of weariness and frustration.

"Well a vamp couldn't have gotten in here." I said quickly. "I rescinded Bill's invitation and he hasn't been invited back. In fact, you're the _only_ vampire with an invitation into my house anymore."

"Debbie was sent here." Eric and I concluded at the exact same time.

Of course, since Eric wasn't meant to have knowledge of the program Bill had been creating, it wasn't as though he could call up Sophie-Anne and let her know that there was a poacher on his turf. Not to mention, there was no guarantee that Sophie-Anne wasn't the poacher herself. If that was the case, then we would really be up shit's creek. I assumed there had to be someone higher up on the food chain than Sophie-Anne, but I sincerely doubted I wanted to meet that vampire. I went back to cleaning up the mess in the foyer while Eric inspected his hiding place to make sure it hadn't been damaged. If it had, we would need to return to Shreveport before morning and I was really looking forward to a night in my own bed.

It took until well after midnight before I was satisfied that my house was clean enough. I started the water in the bathroom to take a shower and I was just barely under the water when Eric was stepping in with me. "What is it with you and showers?" I asked him.

"I like the idea of being dirty in a place that's meant to be clean." He said suggestively.

"Then remind me never to take you to church with me." I quipped and he laughed. I liked the sound of his laughter. Since I didn't get to hear it very often, I really learned to appreciate it when I did.

Eric didn't curse very often, so it caught me off guard when he said what he said next. "Yes, but fucking you in the choir loft would be much more fun than listening to a dull sermon."

I could feel my face flush a little at the thought of such a thing happening. The scary thing was, if Eric caught me at the right moment I might even consider it. "Well, this isn't exactly a choir loft, but it'll do." I looked around the tub and the next thing I knew, I was pressed up against the cold tiles behind me.

I was more than ready to erase the ghastly image of what was left of Debbie Pelt and if anyone could make me forget (at least for a little while), it was Eric. Our mouths found a delicious rhythm, with our hands quickly following suit. We were all over each other like a couple of teenagers hoping our parents didn't walk in on us. I was so focused on him that I didn't even notice right away that he had adjusted the showerhead so that hot water was hitting us. In doing so, the tiles behind me were becoming warmer and warmer. My legs were wrapped around his waist as they most often were at one point or another when we got so tangled up with each other. He lifted me a little higher and his mouth found my breast while my hand sank between our bodies with my fingers curling around him. I rubbed him over me and he growled against my breast. I felt his fangs come out, nicking my nipple as they went. The slight draw of blood he got was the equivalent of me drinking a case of Red Bull.

He lowered me onto him and I sighed happily. The slow and steady thrusting against me was familiar, but not at all boring. It was nice that I knew him well enough now that I could sense him close by just by the change in the air. I could tell his moods by the way his shoulders were set. I knew exactly how long to microwave his bottled blood and how many times it needed to be shaken after warming. I knew it annoyed him to no end when I forgot to turn off the coffee machine and it drove him up the wall when I trailed after him cleaning up the little messes he made. I couldn't help being organized any more than he could help his fangs running out when I tucked my hair behind my ear a certain way. Why _that_ drove him so crazy, I don't know, but I thought it was sweet of him.

He turned so the water was hitting the back of my head and running down my arching back. I was clinging loosely to his strong shoulders, but he was doing most of the lifting. I wondered if he ever got tired of it, but he didn't seem to with as often as we found ourselves upright like this. He seemed to like that we were so eye to eye, which I found fascinating, considering how unevenly matched we were in the rest of our lives. I would never have his strength, just like he would never have my tan. I would never have his longevity, and he would never have my pulse. When all was said and done, I realized that we actually made a pretty good team. We were very much alike in many ways but in the ways we weren't, we brought balance to each other. And no matter how frustrated we got, we always found our way back to one another.

I felt myself tightening up around him. My legs pulled him deeper into me and my fingers grabbed his shoulders a little tighter. My mouth found his neck and I bit him just enough to get his attention. I was careful not to bite hard enough to draw blood. We'd exchanged enough recently and I didn't want to strength our bond any further. We were bound together quite nicely, in my opinion. He didn't bite me in return when he came, which I was thankful for, since he'd taken more than his share in the last few weeks.

I slid down his body like it was a fireman's pole and then reached for the soap. He took it from me and began to lather up his large hands. We'd done the dirty part. Now I was looking forward to being clean. If I knew Eric, I'd be spic-n-span when he was done.

* * *

A couple of weeks later I was in Eric's office at Fangtasia. He was setting up my email account for me. I'd never had one before and I was still pretty inept when it came to using a computer. I still found it funny that the thousand-year-old vampire was dragging me into the current millennia kicking and screaming. His knowledge of computers and technological things surpassed my own. I chocked some of that up to him being a man, albeit a dead one, and the rest to my own ignorance.

There was a slight commotion in the bar area where Pam and the rest of the staff were preparing for the bar's opening that night. I looked up, but Eric just smiled. Whatever had happened, he'd heard it all. I felt a warm radiating from him that I usually only felt when we were in bed together and I looked back at him anxiously. His smile indicated that something very good had just happened, but it wasn't anything sexual. I smiled in return for being able to tell the difference. I just leaned back to kiss his forehead when Pam came bursting into the room.

"Did you hear, Master?" Pam asked and it was strange to hear her call him that.

"Delightful news, isn't it?" Eric's face remained unchanged and he didn't take his eyes from the computer screen.

"What?" I looked back and forth (literally) between Eric and Pam.

"You haven't told her?" Pam looked stunned.

"I was waiting for you to burst in." Eric sounded bored and was a clear hint that Pam should hit the bricks pronto.

"We will be opening in ten minutes." She said and then made a hasty departure.

"What was that about?" I turned in his lap and the tension it caused got him a little excited.

"The State of Louisiana just made a very big announcement." Eric leaned back in his chair so that it tilted some, pressing my side against his chest.

"And?"

"And the State is now recognizing vampire and human marriages." He told me with a calm voice and a face that might have been expressionless if it weren't for the glint of happiness in his eyes.

"Shut up!" I grinned from ear to ear.

In the last few weeks we hadn't talked about making our vampire marriage a legal one. We were going one step at a time and that was just fine by both of us. There'd been no death threats made against either of us. There were no rogue Weres coming out of the woodwork to avenge Debbie Pelt's death. Bill hadn't so much as sulked in the woods near my house or Merlotte's. Life was as normal as it could be for a barmaid in Bon Temps Louisiana who just happened to be married to a powerful vampire a thousand years her senior. Even Sam seemed to have changed his tune a bit about my marriage. I came to the understanding that he had assumed Eric would bar him from my life after we were married. When he realized that wasn't the case, he eased up a bit. I don't know if Eric and Sam would ever be friends, but at least they weren't giving each other an Alpha Male Staredown every time they saw one another.

"This is a big day for my people, Sookie." Eric said in a serious way.

Eric wasn't really one for mainstreaming, although you wouldn't think so what with his human wife and all. I found it interesting because he was so adapt to living like a human, but I suppose that just showed his age. He was used to being shrouded in secrets and mystery. I knew there would always be a piece of him that I couldn't touch, but I was okay with that much. The only way I would ever fully understand was to be turned to one of his kind and I didn't want that. I wanted to live a mortal life and die a mortal death. As romantic as it might be to walk the world together for centuries, if not millennia, that just wasn't what I wanted. Although, wouldn't that be a love story for the ages?

"Yes it is." I agreed, although it wasn't just a big day for vampires. It was a big day for humans like me, who had vampire partners they were dedicated to. "Marry me." I said to Eric, catching him off guard.

"We are already married." He smiled.

"I mean for real, in a human ceremony. I want flowers and a big white dress and I want to hear you say in front of everyone who matters to me that _I_ matter to you." I told him and I knew that was a pretty tall order.

His smile went from smug to devilish and he kissed my jaw. "Will you allow me to take you in the choir loft after?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "No." I said immediately and firmly, but the image was planted in my brain and would stay there for some time. "Okay, then how about just you and me in my backyard at midnight on Winter Solstice?" I suggested.

He contemplated this for a few moments before lifting me off his lap and putting me on his desk. He stood and turned toward a painting hanging on the wall. He removed it to reveal a wall safe I hadn't known was there. He spun the combination on the lock quickly before turning the latch on the safe to open it. There were file folders inside along with a rather large pile of cash. He reached way into the vault and pulled out a black box. He turned toward me and opened the box. Inside was the ceremonial knife he'd brought with him to New Orleans, along with a smaller black box- the kind you get from a jewelry store.

My breath caught in my throat as he pulled the smaller box out before returning the larger one to the back of the safe. He closed the safe door and hung the painting where it belonged. He turned to face me with a solemn expression on his face. He reached for my left hand and fanned out my fingers. I'm sure if I weren't so surprised, I would have said something. As it was, words had lost all meaning.

"I have been waiting to give this to you." He opened the box.

Inside there wasn't just a ring, although it was beautiful. The ring was rose gold and there was a modest (which surprised me) cinnamon colored stone in the center of the ring. There was also a gold chain in the box with a vial dangling from it. The vial was empty, but I assumed it was meant to hold blood. I looked up at him, still unable to find the right words to say. He plucked the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger before raising my hand to his cool lips and kissing the ring.

"It's beautiful, Eric." I breathed. I had never seen another ring like it and I was glad that I wouldn't be wearing something similar to all the other girls I knew.

"It is one of the few things I have retained from my human life." He told me and my jaw dropped. "I cannot recall who once owned it."

"Eric, it's-" I couldn't find the words to finish the sentence right away. "It's perfect." I said after a short pause.

He plucked the chain from the box and handed it to me. "The vial is empty, but I would like to fill it with your blood." He told me in a calm voice that sounded completely rational. The whole thing seemed a little Angelina and Billy Bob to me, but unlike them, Eric was actually a vampire. His request wasn't as strange as I'd thought it would be. I nodded my approval of his suggestion and stared at the ring on my finger some more.

"So you're really gonna marry me?" I asked him.

"Til death do you part." He said a little sadly and I could feel his regret that he would outlive me, maybe for a few thousand more years.

"Don't think about that, Eric." I squeezed his hand with my freshly decorated one. I pulled him closer to me and he lowered his lips to mine. I couldn't remember a time when they had ever tasted quite so sweet.

* * *

**Daaaawwwwww *le sigh* looks like we've got a wedding in the works, baby birds. Get gussied up and meet me at the final chapter. I'll be posting again when I get home from work. Thanks for reading!  
**


	36. Right Here In My Arms

Okay, so I will be responding to all of your reviews this last chapter. I really appreciate you sticking with me and seeing this thing through. I knew how the story ended but I forgot a lot of the details. It's funny to me to read it now and see so many things I would change because it feels OOC, but it would mean having to do a lot of rewriting if I were to correct it. So for those of you who felt these characters were very OOC, you're right. In my defense, however, I did note that in the very first chapter of this story before it even started. Anyway...I appreciate your reviews, favorites, alerts and everything else. It means a lot to me. *tears up a smidge* Okay...enough before I get serious cry face. I'll look worse than Sookie in last week's ep of TB. Yeah, it's THAT bad.

*puts on party dress* Okay, I'm ready for the wedding.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Six: Right Here In My Arms

I heard Jason coming into the house before I saw him. He was humming with as much excitement as I was and as he raised his hand to knock on the bedroom door, I heard him thinking, _I wish Mama and Daddy where here to see this._ He wasn't thinking anything I hadn't thought myself a million times in the last few hours, but it was sweet to know he was thinking it too. There was a quick rapping before he opened the door a crack. "Sook, you decent?"

"Yeah, I'm all dressed." I smiled at him over my shoulder.

My brother stepped into the room and smiled his mega-watt smile at me. "You look real pretty, little sister." He said with pride as he came into the room.

"Thanks, Jason." I stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror in front of me. "Who'd have thought when we were kids that I'd end up marrying a vampire?"

"Lots of things have changed since then." Jason sighed and sat down on chest at the end of the bed. "You're happy, right, Sook?"

"Of course I'm happy. Why would you think I wasn't?"

"I just don't want you thinking you have to marry Eric because he's the only one who can keep you safe." Jason admitted, looking glumly at his feet.

"Jason, I'm marrying Eric because I love him and because I want to spend my life with him." I assured my brother. "I thought you were okay with this."

"I am, Sookie, I am." He stood up and walked over to stand beside me. "I just don't want you doing this for the wrong reasons."

"I love him, Jason. What other reason do I need?" I shrugged.

"You don't." He looked at our reflections and put a protective arm around me. "I got my speech all wrote out for the ceremony. I wanted to let you read it, but I thought you might want to be surprised by what I have to say. I promise I'll behave myself." Jason said when I looked at him questioningly. "Wait until you see the yard."

My face lit up at mention of Eric's secret project. "Looks good, huh?"

"Looks amazing. I can't believe he did it all in one night." Jason was impressed with a vampire, which was certainly something new. It wasn't so long ago he was following around those morons from the Fellowship of the Sun, condemning all non-humans to horrible painful deaths. "For what it's worth, Sook, I think he really loves you too."

"He better." I smiled at my brother and there was another knock on the door. I hadn't sensed the approaching brain, which told me my visitor was vampire. "Come in Pam."

"We are ready to start." She told me, smiling when she saw me.

"Thanks." I felt my heart leap into my throat. Pam disappeared, but didn't bother to close the door. "Did you give Eric his gift?"

"Of course." Jason's eyes had bugged out of his head when I had given him a sword to give to Eric. But then I explained that it was a traditional gift for a wife to give a husband back when Eric was a human. I assured him Eric wouldn't be using it to massacre any of the human guests and Jason seemed to lighten up a bit. "You glad to have your talent back?" My brother asked.

"It was rough at first, but I'm coping." I smiled down at my feet.

As a gift to me, Eric had asked Pam's magically inclined friend Amelia to see what she could do about restoring my telepathy. It was an unexpected gift, and at first I wasn't sure I wanted it back. I'd gotten used to the quiet in my head, but I also knew that being a telepath was a part of me and I missed it quite a bit. Not to mention, it meant that I couldn't be glamoured ever again and that would make Eric's job that much easier when it came to keeping me safe. So, I'd consented to letting Amelia work another spell on me. At first, I'd had an awful time being anywhere other than with Eric. I wasn't used to flexing that mental muscle to keep the thoughts out of my head anymore and it took several visits at work from Eric and Pam before I was able to restore order in my head.

I'd never really thought of Pam as a friend up until recently, but she had become a valuable asset to me. Part of me assumed she was so nice to me because of Eric, but I wanted to believe it was more because we just seemed to understand each other in a basic kind of way. As it was, she was standing up as my maid of honor, while my brother was Eric's best man. As much as Eric and I wanted to keep the ceremony just to the two of us, we had to have witnesses there to sign our marriage certificate. Since it was important to the old Norse traditions that a male member of the bride's family be there, I'd asked my brother. Pam was the only thing remotely close to family that Eric had, so of course, she was the obvious choice for him.

I picked up the small crown of flowers I'd ordered and I placed it on my head. I couldn't imagine wearing one of the traditional headsets a Norse bride would have worn, so this would have to do. I picked up a small pile of cloth and Jason looked at me curiously. I wasn't going to be carrying a bouquet of flowers the way your average bride would be. There was no need for them in the sort of ceremony Eric and I were having. I'd done some research on the internet after a few of Eric's tutorials, and I was able to find out some information on Norse weddings. Although he'd insisted it wasn't important to him to incorporate those things, I could tell that it was. Since I was a Christian, but not real religious, I didn't mind that we weren't getting married in a church. The important thing was that we would say vows to one another, and we would take them seriously. I didn't care who witnessed them, so long as they were said.

Jason walked me through the house, and left me in the kitchen with Pam, since I didn't need someone to walk me down the isle. In fact, I wasn't sure there would even _be_ an isle. The curtains in the kitchen were closed so I couldn't see outside. Eric had been giddy like a little kid with the thought of being able to surprise me with whatever he had come up with for this ceremony. Pam looked me over from head to toe and she adjusted my hair just a bit.

"You look stunning, Sookie." She smiled at me with approval.

"Thank you, Pam." I smiled in return. She was wearing a crimson colored dress that was cut into a replica of the dress I was wearing. Only Pam's dress was velvet, and therefore, much warmer than my own would be.

Her face brightened a bit more, her milky white skin glowing against the deep red of her dress. "It's time."

* * *

I felt my heart leap into my throat and I watched as she walked out the kitchen door and onto the mud porch. I went to the refrigerator to retrieve a golden apple I'd bought just for the wedding and I put it on top of the cloth I was carrying. I waited a few seconds before following Pam out onto the mud porch. The second I stepped out I could see the yard. It was breathtaking. Eric had strung lights up over all of the trees, creating a soft white wall of light and the ground was sparkling. It took me a minute to realize it was gold dust I was about to step on. There were candles lining the path I would walk from the house to where he was standing. The ceremony was being performed by a justice of the peace, since vampires couldn't perform human weddings (at least not yet).

My eyes connected with Eric's as I walked toward him. He was wearing a lovely black suit with a red tie the color of Pam's dress. The sword I'd given him was strapped to his side, but it didn't look nearly as out of place as I'd thought it would. I paid close attention to his expression as I walked toward him because that was the one thing I could never quite imagine as a little girl. I would imagine what my dress would look like, or how many bridesmaids I'd have, or even what the cake would taste like on my wedding day. But since the man I was marrying was always a faceless one, I could never quite see what I wanted his face to look like when he saw me coming toward him. But the look on Eric's face was perfect and it made my heart swell. He looked sure. He looked happy. He looked like he was in love. I couldn't have asked for anything more than that.

I felt my lower lip tremble just a little and I was glad I had tucked some tissues under my watch the way my Gran used to do. I made a quick stop at the small table that had been put outside and draped with a beautiful tablecloth. As was custom, I placed the apple on it as an offering for the Norse Goddess Idunn, who would always make me beautiful and fair in Eric's eyes. I smiled at Eric as I turned to walk back to him and his smile was as bright as my own. The first part of the ceremony required us to exchange gifts that expressed our livelihoods. Since Eric and I were in relatively similar businesses it seemed almost pointless, but I knew our gifts would be very different. They were also more symbolic than anything else. He presented me with a beautifully engraved pewter flask, while I gave him the material in my hands.

"An apron?" He arched an eyebrow at him in a peculiar way, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Well, it's not just about my work at the bar. It's about my responsibilities in the home." I said, which seemed to catch him off guard. Not that I was signing up to be his cleaning woman specifically, but I knew there was no way Eric was ever going to just volunteer to vacuum the living room, or wash the kitchen floor. I didn't mind doing those things so long as it didn't go unappreciated, and Eric understood that.

Even the justice of the peace seemed a little surprised by my gift, considering I was marrying a vampire. Our ceremony was steeped in tradition, considering how untraditional the entire concept of our marriage really was. Our vows were going to be pretty traditional as well. We wouldn't be mentioning anything about me promising to let Eric feed on me every night for the rest of my life, or him promising he would mow the lawn every Sunday. After the justice of the peace said the usual opening remarks for a wedding, he turned to Eric and I, and asked us the question that was most crucial to the whole ceremony.

"Eric and Sookie, do you come of your own free will to ratify the bond already made between you in the sight of this company?" He asked, and in his mind, I knew he was half expecting me to pipe up and admit I had been glamoured into marrying Eric, but nothing could further from the truth.

It was very important that both parties be willing in a marriage, according to Norse tradition, and I was definitely willing. "I do." Eric and I said simultaneously.

"What gifts and resources does each partner bring to this alliance?" The Justice asked, and it was Jason's turn to talk.

"Eric is a worthy man." He started, which sort of floored us both. "He is loyal, respectful and protective. He will regard my sister's life as if it were his own. To this union, he brings the wisdom of his many years," This made all of us laugh quietly, including the justice of the peace. Leave it to my brother to remind us all of the huge age difference between Eric and I, even if we looked to be about the same age. "As well as a pure intent. Above all, Eric is ready to take on the responsibility this marriage offers."

Believe it or not, Pam actually had little pools of red in the corners of her eyes. While Pam could be enthusiastic from time to time, and she was certainly sarcastic on a regular basis, I never would have pegged her for a romantic. But I'll be darned if her voice didn't crack once or twice as she spoke for me.

"Sookie is a worthy woman." She started the same way as Jason had. "She is kind, generous, devoted and faithful. She will regard Eric's life as if it were her own." I was thankful she didn't call Eric her Maker or her Master, as that would have raised an eyebrow from the Justice who was overseeing this ceremony. "To this union she brings heart and soul, as well as strength and courage. Above all, Sookie is ready to take on the responsibility marriage offers."

It was nice to hear such wonderful things said about us both, especially considering who they were coming from. Jason had made an effort to try to get to know Eric a bit better. He'd been disappointed to discover he wouldn't be getting the benefit of drunken wedding sex with Pam since she wasn't into men, nor did she have a pulse. My brother might be willing to friend a vampire now, but I didn't see him getting into a relationship with one after all he'd been through. Even if he was over all the garbage that FotS had put in his head, he was still too troubled by the things that had happened in his own past to really let a vampire get close to him in an intimate way.

"The binding of hands represents the binding of lives." The Justice said as Eric produced a chord I hadn't known was there under his jacket. The cord was wrapped around each of our left wrists so that our hands were connected. Eric and I turned to face one another and he pulled the sword that was strapped to his waist from the sheath it was in. Our wedding rings were dangling from the handle of the sword. He plunged the sword into the earth between us and he removed my ring first. We turned our hands so that he could slip the ring on my finger.

"I, Eric, do pledge you, Sookie, to live as your husband." His accent was a little thicker than usual, which would have told me his emotions were running high, even if I couldn't feel them. "Your hearth shall be my hearth, your board shall be my board, your bed shall be my bed. For your loyalty I shall return love, and for your love grant you my loyalty. What I give to others shall not deprive you. What I gain from others I will share. In weal and woe we shall stand together as comrades and lovers, together we shall walk life's way. Upon the circle of life I swear it."

I removed his ring from the other side of the sword and put it on his finger. "I, Sookie, do pledge you, Eric, to live as your wife." I smiled at him and laced the fingers of our left hands together, squeezing his palm against my own as hard as I could. "Your hearth shall be my hearth, your board shall be my board, your bed shall be my bed. For your loyalty I shall return love, and for your love grant you my loyalty. What I give to others shall not deprive you. What I gain from others I will share. In weal and woe we shall stand together as comrades and lovers, together we shall walk life's way. Upon the circle of life I swear it."

"Whenever a marriage is made, the partners bring to it not only their bodies and spirits and worldly goods, but their family and friends. I ask you who have come to witness this wedding whether you will love the two as you have loved each one, whether you will encourage and support them in keeping the vows they have just made, and whether you will extend your friendship to those with whom this marriage connects you?" The Justice looked back and forth between Jason and Pam.

"We will." They both said.

On the table where I had put the golden apple, Pam retrieved a goblet and a small plate that held a seed cake that she, herself, had baked for the wedding. It was about the size of a pancake, and made with a similar batter, except Pam had added honey and poppy seeds to it. This was another symbolic tradition. The cake was meant to symbolize the sweetness and fertility of marriage, even though I was quite certain Eric and I would never have a child of our own. He dropped a piece of the cake on the ground as an offering (which was something I found out later. I thought it was just a goof on his part), and then he fed a small piece to me. It actually wasn't horrible, and back when Eric was married as human, it was probably quite tasty. But people didn't know of triple chocolate fudge cakes back then.

After that, it was customary for a couple to share a horn of mead, but since Eric couldn't drink anything other than blood, this would be a blood ritual. Yep, that's right, I drank blood at my wedding. It was Eric's blood, as a matter of fact, since it would have taken too much of mine to fill the goblet, and his was more easily replenished than my own. There was no way I was going to start drinking TrueBlood to make up for the supplies I lost, either. I had to draw the line somewhere, I figure that's a pretty darn good place to draw it. At the smell of the blood, both Eric and Pam's fangs ran out and I felt a twinge of fear from my brother. I smiled at him to let him know it was okay. Vampires couldn't control the running of their fangs anymore than I could control my heartbeat when something spooked me. It was just an involuntary reflex.

Eric took a sip from the goblet before handing it to me. I took a sip myself and almost immediately felt the effects of his blood in my body. I was perfectly healthy, so taking a hit of vampire blood was a pretty big deal. I handed the goblet back to Eric and he finished off what was left inside before handing the cup back to Pam. This was it. The ceremony was over.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I pronounce that you are husband and wife. By the vows here spoken, by the exchange of tokens, may the bond just made endure unbroken. Eric, you may kiss your bride." The Justice gestured to me.

"I love you, Sookie." He whispered to me, tilting my chin up toward his face with his fingers.

"I love you, Eric." I answered him, and when he kissed me, I never felt so peaceful.

* * *

I wasn't much of a drinker, but since it was my wedding I made an exception and had a glass of champagne. I was in the kitchen with Eric, Pam and Jason when the phone rang. The caller ID told me it was Sam. Not only was it Sam, but he was calling from his house on Friday night. That wasn't a good sign. That night would _not_ be a good night for a tragedy, but I worried that was exactly why Sam was calling me. I picked up the phone on the third ring, and it sounded a bit chaotic around Sam.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, bringing all the conversation around me to a standstill.

"Sookie, I need you to get down here right away." Sam sounded terrified.

"Sam, I just got married." I reminded him.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry to bug you on such an important night, but there's a problem here, and I need your help." Sam sounded regretful for pulling me from my happiness.

"What's going on, Sam?" If I was going to abandon my little wedding celebration, I damn well wanted to know it was for a good reason.

"I can't really tell you over the phone. Just, please, Sookie, you have to come. Bring Eric with you." He said.

"Sam, are you in trouble?" I asked.

"Just hurry." Sam said in a rush, and hung up the phone.

My heart sunk as I replaced the phone on its receiver. "What happened?" Eric asked.

"Sam's in trouble. He needs our help." I said in a broken voice. This wasn't how this night was supposed to go. "God, why can't anything ever go right?" I asked, looking to the ceiling as if I were looking directly into the face of God.

"Did he say what's wrong?" Jason asked, and I searched his brain to see if he knew anything. As per usual, my brother- bless his heart- was clueless.

"No." I said bitterly, and then set down my glass of champagne. "Well, I guess we better get going." I sighed.

"Sookie, let the Shifter handle his own problems." Eric insisted.

"I can't do that, Eric. He's asking for my help. Let's just go see what the big deal is and then we can come back here and finish the celebration." I offered.

If it weren't for my already proven habit of being stubborn and determined, Eric may have wasted a little more effort trying to convince me not to go. Instead, he mumbled something in Swedish that made Pam chuckle. The four of us piled into Eric's large SUV that we had driven to Mississippi a few months before, and in no time, we were pulling up to Merlotte's. I didn't see a single car in the lot, or any of the lights on in the bar. Even Sam's trailer was dark. I scanned for brains nearby and that was my first big clue that something was definitely strange. There were too many brains for so little activity.

Eric grabbed my hand as I marched toward the bar. He was ready to defend me, just like he always was. "I smell shifters and Weres." He informed me, but I already knew that because of the brain signatures I had counted. I could tell a human brain from a shifter brain very easily and I assumed the flashes of red I was getting were the Were brains.

Eric opened the door of the bar and when he did, the lights came on inside. "Surprise!"

I was caught off guard by the sudden noise and I stumbled backward, bumping my brother. "Sweet Jesus!" Was the reaction they got from me. My heart yo-yoed from my feet to my skull and back again a time or two before I could move.

I looked from Eric to Pam to my brother. There were no clues from Jason, but Pam and Eric were smiling. They were in on this little plan and I knew right away it was a good thing they hadn't told Jason, or I would have figured it out much sooner. Sam stepped forward in a nice gray suit and as soon as I regained the ability to speak, I walked toward him.

"What is all this?" I looked around to see a large wedding cake on the bar and the pool tables covered over with various snacks and treats. There were decorations on the walls and candles on the tables.

"It's your wedding reception." Sam said as if I should know better.

"You're throwing me a surprise wedding reception?" My mouth hung open.

"I felt bad about the way I reacted when you told me you were married. You're my friend and you've always been there for me. I should be big enough to do the same. If Eric makes you happy, then that's all that matters." Sam said, causing tears to spring to me eyes.

"Sam Merlotte you are the best boss, and friend, a girl could ever have." I threw my arms around him and kissed his warm stubbly cheek. When I pulled back I punched his arm, careful not to go too hard since I had Eric's blood in my system. "And that's for about scaring me half to death!"

He smiled at me again, and pulled me into another hug. From there on I was passed around from one person to another, everyone wanting to know about the ceremony and see my rings. There were a few vampires in attendance as well, but they mostly kept to themselves on the other side of the bar. I would like to be able to say that the people I'd known for so long were able to put aside their prejudices or fears long enough to have fun at the party Sam was throwing for me, and some of them did, but most of them just kept quiet. As long as there was no bloodshed, I suppose I would call the whole thing a success.

Even more surprising, Eric was taking the whole thing rather well. He was being a bit more social than I thought he would be, and I was thankful for that. I knew he was just doing it for me, but that was just as good a reason as any. Lord knows I'd gotten involved with vampires simply for _his_ sake a time or two, and I was sure I'd do it again in the future. But, that's what a marriage is, right? You do things you don't always want to do because it makes the other person happy. For Eric, that included dancing with me to a Tony Bennett song while everyone in the room watched and took our picture. Eric wasn't crazy about being photographed, but he understood that it was important to me, so he let it go.

After a few dances with a few other people, I excused myself to go to the ladies' room. I wanted to pull my hair up in a ponytail. It was awfully warm in the bar and all of the champagne I'd had to drink wasn't doing much to keep me cool, not to mention all of the dancing. I leaned against the old porcelain sink and took a few deep breaths. The bathroom door opened and I felt myself flood with happiness. I didn't even have to look up to know it was Eric.

"This is the ladies' bathroom." I turned toward him.

"So it is." He looked around as he pushed the door closed behind him and threw the lock.

"Eric, you can't be in here." I laughed, a little too tipsy to notice his fangs were out, but I noticed it as soon as he was standing in front of me. "Eric we can't have sex in here." I whispered as his mouth lowered to mine.

"Sure we can." He picked me up and set me down on the old heat register. Thankfully, the heat wasn't up too high or I would have burned myself. "You look beautiful, lover. Delicious, in fact."

"Thank you." I smiled up at him drunkenly and tugged on his tie to bring his face closer to mine. "If you can behave yourself for just one more hour, I promise to make it worth your while." I licked his fangs and I felt a fresh wave of lust roll through our bond.

"One hour?"

"One hour." I nodded, still holding onto his tie.

He smiled a devilish smile at me, and then said, "One hour. You got yourself a deal."

* * *

When the hour was up, Eric made it clear to me that he expected me to hold up my end of the bargain, and so I started to say my goodnights and thank you's to everyone who had attended the party. Sam promised to hold the gifts that some people had brought in his office until I could pick them up in a few days. Since it was close by, Eric and I would be spending our first night together in my old house. After that, I would be heading to Shreveport for a few days before going back to Bon Temps for Christmas. I couldn't imagine not waking up Christmas morning in my Gran's house. Besides, I had offered to make dinner for Jason, Sam and Tara, and I couldn't very well rescind those invitations just because my husband didn't eat.

Eric sped down Old Parish Road like he was being chased by fighter planes, but I couldn't really blame him. I'd had a whole hour to think of all the other things we could have (and maybe should have) been doing instead of mingling with random folks. There was a package on my front porch, and I knew the handwriting on the card instantly. Bill had been to the house. If it weren't for the fact that Eric was lost in lust, he might have been more angry about it. As it was, I simply brought the package inside when Eric carried me over the threshold of the house. I set the package down on the dining room table while Eric did a quick sweep of the house to make sure it was locked up like Fort Knox.

I stood in the foyer waiting for him to return to me, and he did with this hungry expression in his eyes. "Don't tear my dress." I said with a smile, since I was pretty sure the thought had crossed his mind.

"No harm will come to the garment, lover." He promised me in a predatory tone of voice that made my heart flip-flop and the space below my pelvis ache.

He glided toward me, and put his hands in my hair to angle my face before lowering his lips to mine. His need for me was obvious when he pressed his body against mine, and almost instantly, we were peeling off each other's clothes. I backed up toward the living room as he unzipped my dress carefully. He pulled it away from my body, allowing my arms to slide out of the sleeves before letting the dress fall around my feet. I stood there in front of him in fancy white lingerie that had been a gift from Tara. Eric licked his fangs in appreciation for the outfit I was wearing, and we went back to kissing as I unknotted his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. Undressing him was a much more time consuming process than I'd thought it would be.

Our mouths were exploring terrain we both knew quite well by that point. I nibbled on him in various places as his hands removed the lingerie I was wearing. My heart was hammering away, and it was the only thing I could hear aside from the occasional groan or sound Eric made. When his hand slipped between my legs I rewarded him with a firmer bite on the right side of his neck, and he growled at me. I smiled up at him with innocent eyes, and began to unzip his pants. When they fell to his feet, I swear my heart stopped altogether. Eric didn't wear underwear very often, which was just fine with me, but that night he was wearing bright red underwear that was definitely stretching to conceal everything.

His fingers move expertly inside my panties, and I slipped my hand inside his underwear to show him the same courtesy. Our mouths collided again, and we moved slowly from the living room toward the hall, and back to my bedroom. By the time we reached my bed, I was moaning loudly into Eric's mouth. I laid back on my bed, and raised my hips so he could remove my panties. As soon as they were gone, he sank between my legs, and let his tongue take the place of his fingers. His hands snaked up my body to my breasts, and it surprised him when I bent my neck so that I could pull one of his fingers into my mouth. His eyes flashed, and he turned his head to the side and began to nuzzle my thigh. His thumb took the place of his tongue, and just as I was starting to cry out, he bit my thigh. My entire body shook violently, and I accidentally bit his finger. He sucked on my thigh just a little bit harder, causing a delightful aftershock to hit me rather quickly.

My eyes were still closed, delighting in the warm that was radiating from deep in my belly when Eric positioned himself on top of me. He rubbed up against me in a teasing sort of way while he tongue was darting in and out of my mouth. My brain was soupy with booze and lust, and the only words I could find to say were far more vulgar than ones I would normally choose, but they seemed to be of great encouragement to the vampire who had waited patiently for me for so long. Still, he was enjoying the teasing portion of all this. He would push into me just enough for me to feel him, and then he wold pull out. He repeated this over and over again until I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I grabbed his hips, and raised mine to meet him, and I pulled him into me. I moaned loudly, and crushed my hips against his as he thrust into me. His lips never left mine, and we kissed until I couldn't breathe anymore. He held the back of my head, his fingers lost in my hair. When our bodies turned so I was on top of him, I stayed just as close to him, though his hands drifted down my back to my hips, rocking me gently. When he sat up, he moved me faster on top of him, and felt my toes starting to go numb from curling so much. I gasped against his throat, and then nearly screamed when my body tightened up and started to shake. I threw my head backward, and chest pressed against his when my back began to arch at an almost impossible angle.

My hips continued to rock against his until finally, I felt him explode inside of me, his arms tightening around me. He didn't bite me again, though I felt the pressure of his fangs against my collarbone. He fell backward, taking me down with him. I stayed there on top of him for a few minutes before rolling onto my side. He was starry-eyed and dead silent. I was still gasping for air, and wondering when my heart would start beating normally again. He traced a faint line on my side where Debbie Pelt had grazed me with her knife. Eric had healed me that night simply by licking the wound. The cut hadn't been very deep, and the coagulant in his saliva was enough to seal the would closed.

"So, Mr. Northman, was it worth the wait?" I angled my body closer to his.

Eric looked down at me and said, "That was only the beginning, Mrs. Northman."

I smiled to hear myself called that, and my smile only grew when I realized Eric was ready to go again. It was going to be a long night, and if our first night as a married couple was any indication of our future, it was going to be a very happy marriage.

-FIN-

* * *

So there you have it, baby birds. The HEA everyone always wants. Researching this last chapter was so much fun for me. There's a surprising amount of information available on Norse wedding traditions. The majority of the ceremony you read was one I found on-line somewhere. Sadly, I don't have the link for it, but it didn't just materialize out of thin air, either. Before anyone asks me for an epilogue or to continue this story in a sequel let me tell you that has already talked me into writing a follow up to this. I've started the outlining process but it'll be a while before I get the chance to start production on it. I need to confer with some people about my ideas and make sure it flows. If possible, I'd like to complete the story before I start posting it, so be patient with me. I've got a lot on my plate right now and it's only going to get crazier one the Sins Contest submissions start coming in.

I'll be posting a promo fic from the fabulous **kjwrit** in just a little bit that I think you'll all enjoy. If you haven't gotten into her work yet, what'cha waiting for? Trust me, baby birds, you won't be disappointed. Eric in dress blues? *thud* I rest my case.

Before I forget! There's a great challenge that was thrown down last night by the wonderful and **MissusT** (if you're not reading Leap of Faith or Halo Effect, you totes should be!) in honor of all the birthdays coming up in the Sookieverse in the next couple of weeks. So if you're looking for a way to honor your favorite fanfic writers on the anniversary of their entrance to the world, write 'em a fic. Trust me, us authors love it when you write us presents. For more information on whose birthdays are approaching and what the challenge rules are check out:

**http:/www9dot)thesookieverse(dot)com/2010/07/let-them-eat-birthday-cake-challenge(dot)html**

Again, thank you for sticking with me! Now I can get back to focusing on Hot For Teacher and Always For You (both of which will be returning soon, I promise!) If I could, I'd molest each and every one of your faces for being so awesome. Thanks for reading!

~Meg~


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